July 15, 2021
As Delivered
Thank you, Helene. Thanks for having me on. It’s really exciting to have so many elected local officials online today. I’m also especially glad that we’ve got a strong California contingent, including a couple of folks from Santa Barbara, which is really truly one of my favorite cities in the whole world and part of the United States and my home state. It reminds me an awful lot of the climate and everything else here in Athens, Greece.
You will also be glad to know we have a really strong California contingent here at the U.S. Embassy in Greece. Our Consul General In Thessaloniki is from San Francisco. And fortuitously, Thessaloniki’s sister city, or one of its sister cities in the U.S., is San Francisco. Liz Lee, our Consul General, had the opportunity to visit with Mayor London Breed when she was back at home last month and we’re very excited about the fact that we may get Mayor Breed to come to Thessaloniki later this year or next. And then
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what s clicking on Foxnews.com.
An Olympia, Wash., city council member disagrees with Mayor Cheryl Selby s designation of last week s forcible occupation of the Red Lion Hotel to demand housing for the homeless as an act of domestic terrorism. While I 100% believe people, particularly hotel workers and guests, could reasonably fear for their safety during the action by housing activists at the Red Lion last weekend, I 100% reject the notion that this was an act of terrorism, Olympia Councilmember Renata Rollins said in a statement to Fox News on Friday. Terrorism is the use of targeted political violence rooted in the supremacy of one group over others, along race, religious, or ethnic lines, she added.
Police arrest twelve activists demanding housing for the homeless in Olympia, Washington
On Sunday, Olympia police forcibly evicted 45 homeless activists from the Red Lion Hotel, and 12 people were arrested on burglary and trespassing charges. According to the police, the homeless activists had “forcibly occupied” and attempted to “take over the hotel” and an employee was said to have been assaulted when they tried to close the door.
The activist group Oly Housing Now (OHN) had booked 17 rooms for the homeless and said they would stay there until Thurston County arranged for permanent housing. The activist group demanded that Thurston County Health Department apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to shelter the county’s homeless.
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what s clicking on Foxnews.com.
City officials in Olympia, Wash., on Tuesday condemned the actions of activists aligned with the group Oly Housing Now, after the forcible occupation of a hotel over the weekend to demand pandemic housing for the homeless, according to a report. I’m calling this crime an act of domestic terrorism, Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby said at a city council meeting on Tuesday, according to the Olympian.
The group of approximately 45 people barged into the Downtown Olympia Red Lion Hotel around 11 a.m. local time Sunday armed with items such as hatchets, batons, knives and had gasmasks, helmets, and goggles apparently in preparation for a confrontation, the city announced in a press release.
Queen Anne & Magnolia News
Ruairi Vaughan, Contributing writer Wednesday, February 3, 2021 2:37 PM
The Washington state Legislature is considering legislation that would make it illegal to openly carry weapons during protests or on the grounds of the state Capitol.
Opponents of Senate Bill 5038 have labelled it an assault on the Second Amendment, while the bill’s supporters argue it is necessary to prevent more violent confrontations like the ones that occurred during public demonstrations last year.
The bill, which was sponsored by 15 Democratic state senators, would make it a gross misdemeanor to carry a variety of weapons including firearms, clubs, knives and knuckle dusters while attending a public demonstration or on the grounds of the state Capitol.