Local Government – Page 6 – Glen's Parallax Perspectives

TV: “Local Government Fairness and Accountability”

December 2, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

How many people actually pay much attention to local governments’ detailed decisions about zoning, funding streets and sewers, and so forth? Hardly anyone pays attention – except those who have a direct financial stake in those decisions, such as real estate developers and other persons who have direct financial interests in local governments’ decisions. So what happens as a result? The “special interests” are able to exploit local governments to serve their narrow economic profits, while the rest of us never know that we are being ripped off. For example, the local elites that run many local governments and media […]

TV: “Solving Homelessness Problems in New Ways: A Systems Approach”

November 20, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

Watch this insightful TV interview HERE. Read a very thorough summary of what we said Program Description — June 2013. The greater Olympia and Thurston County areas have recently been addressing the homelessness problems in more thoughtful and comprehensive ways. On the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s June 2013 TV program, three guests dispel the misunderstandings that have impaired public discussions. Our guests also lay out some of the positive new directions for helping homeless people more effectively. See contact information for these guests and several great non-profit organizations at the end of this article. We begin with a clearer understanding […]

TV: “Strengthen Democracy with a Community Rights Ordinance (CRO)”

November 20, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

To watch this interview, click HERE. To read a .pdf summary of what we said during the interview, click Program Description — April 2014. The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s April 2014 TV program takes a fresh look at democracy – specifically, how to make democracy more real and more vibrant by practicing it at the local level. We examine the growing movement for vibrant grassroots democracy through local efforts called “Community Rights Ordinances” – CROs. Our TV program’s three guests help us understand Community Rights Ordinances – and how we might adopt one locally, perhaps focusing on a specific concern […]

TV: Igniting a Grassroots Compassion Movement”

November 20, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

To watch this 1-hour interview, click HERE. To read the following summary in .pdf format, click Program Description — June 2014. The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s June 2014 TV program explores the potential of applying compassion to a wide range of social problems. Our four guests (listed near the end of this article) are active in Compassionate Seattle, which began in 2008, when the Dalai Lama visited Seattle and promoted the Seeds of Compassion, which Archbishop Desmond Tutu also supported. Another boost came in late 2009 when Karen Armstrong won a TED award for her Charter of Compassion movement based […]

TV: “Restoring the Deschutes Estuary to its Natural Flow”

November 20, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

To watch this 1-hour interview, click HERE. To read the information below in .pdf format, click Program Description — December 2014. The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s December 2014 TV program examines an environmental problem that has hurt the greater Olympia and south Puget Sound areas for more than half a century – the problems in the waters near the west side of downtown Olympia where the 5th Avenue dam prevents the Deschutes River flow freely into Budd In-let, the southernmost tip of Puget Sound. Only in the past few years have people been organizing vigorously to solve the problems with […]

TV: “LBA Woods and Other Parks for Our Community”

November 20, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s April 2015 TV program explores the need for local parks. We focus on a timely opportunity to devote a large amount of addi-tional land to become a park that would serve the greater Thurston County area. A community group formed a few years ago and has generated wide support throughout our community for a 150-acre “LBA Woods Park” next to the current “LBA Park” in SE Olympia, within the city limits. This non-profit organization, the LBA Woods Park Coalition (www.lbawoodspark.org), has been urging the City of Olympia to buy the available land now so it […]

TV: “Support an Effective Public Sector”

November 17, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s March 2016 TV interview explores how a vibrant and effective public sector can serve the public interest. For a several decades – especially since Ronald Reagan’s era – we have been hearing anti-government rhetoric from politicians and other powerful interests who want to cut taxes in order to starve and shrink the public sector. Sometimes voters have gone along with that, cutting taxes and cutting governments’ abilities to meet needs. Those powerful interests also have pushed governments to sell public resources to private corporations (to “privatize” them) so they can reap private profits from activities […]

TV: “Urge Local Governments to Meet Climate Goals”

November 15, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

Watch a 1-hour interview about how to make practical progress toward protecting the climate by researching greenhouse emissions at local levels, engaging local people (including kids), and organizing to urge local governments to take specific bold actions to meet climate goals. The smart advice “Think globally — Act locally” pertains very well to the climate crisis. Our November 2017 TV interview explores how people can work locally to protect the climate – especially by urging our local governments to take strong actions at the local level. We approach this topic from several angles. We consider specific actions local governments anywhere […]