Podcast Episode 2 · Oct. 15, 2026
0:00 / 12:17
You're reading the South Bay / Johnson Point Edition. Hawks Prairie and Downtown Olympia editions are coming soon.
Public Safety
A two-alarm fire Thursday tore through the roughly 30-unit Suncrest Apartments on Israel Road Southwest in Tumwater. Firefighters rescued a man and a child, no one was seriously hurt, and dozens of residents were displaced. The cause is under investigation.
GovernmentMadison Elementary closure hearing Monday is the last of three; district analysis shows the smallest school and the biggest savingsThe Olympia School Board takes public testimony Monday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m. on closing Madison Elementary and moving its students to Roosevelt. District documents show Madison has 160 students and the largest projected savings of the three schools proposed for closure.
Local EventsThis weekend: Plant trees for orcas at Squaxin Park, plus a fairgrounds swap meet, a weavers' sale and a downtown duck huntOrca Recovery Day brings a volunteer planting party to Squaxin Park and free family activities to the WET Science Center on Saturday, Oct. 17. Also this weekend, the Secondhand Safari swap meet and the Olympia Weavers Guild sale fill the Thurston County Fairgrounds, and downtown's Halloween scavenger hunt begins.
InformState retirees' UnitedHealthcare Medicare premiums jump more than 50% for 2027 as Providence St. Peter leaves the networkState-retiree premiums for UnitedHealthcare's PEBB Complete plan rise from $220.18 to $342.87 a month on Jan. 1, while Kaiser's plan barely moves. PEBB retirees have until Nov. 23 to switch, two weeks before Medicare's own deadline.How much do the printed business ad signs staked along local roadsides bother you?
Read the story: printed business ad signs along our roadsides
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Oct 9–25 · Various times
State Theater, 202 4th Ave E
Oct 11 & 18 · Sundays · 1 p.m.
Capitol Theater · free for 12 and under
Oct 16 · Friday · 8 p.m.
Capitol Theater, 206 5th Ave SE
Oct 17 · Saturday · 7 p.m.
Washington Center
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