Chris Hubbard, his wife, Ashley, and their son, Marcus, from right, tour homes Thursday with Olympia real estate agent Jason Peterson. (NICK STRITE/Contributing Photographer) Chris Hubbard, his wife, Ashley, and their son, Marcus, from right, tour homes Thursday with Olympia real estate agent Jason Peterson. (NICK STRITE/Contributing Photographer)

Happy returns for economy too as service members return to JBLM

Business at South Sound real estate agencies, car dealerships and furniture stores is picking up as more soldiers return from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, which began last year.

Olympia Mayor Doug Mah and other city and fire officials prepare Thursday for the groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Olympia Fire Department training center off Fones Road in Olympia. The project was authorized in 2008 after voters agreed to raise their property taxes for 20 years to pay for the training center. Olympia Mayor Doug Mah and other city and fire officials prepare Thursday for the groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Olympia Fire Department training center off Fones Road in Olympia. The project was authorized in 2008 after voters agreed to raise their property taxes for 20 years to pay for the training center.

Olympia breaks ground on fire training site

OLYMPIA – The city ceremonially broke ground Friday on a $3.9 million fire training center. The centerpiece of the facility will be a five-story training tower, allowing firefighters in the region to practice fighting fires and smoky conditions.

Bruce Vaughan blasts out of a bunker Thursday at the ninth, his final hole in a 4-under 66 that puts him ahead by two shots.   (Lui Kit Wong/The News Tribune) Bruce Vaughan blasts out of a bunker Thursday at the ninth, his final hole in a 4-under 66 that puts him ahead by two shots. (Lui Kit Wong/The News Tribune)

Bruce Vaughan in lead after first round of U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee

SAMAMMISH – On a day when Sahalee Country Club’s narrow fairways and firm greens frustrated some of golf’s most accomplished players, a 53-year-old former firefighter who never won on the PGA Tour seized control of the U.S. Senior Open.

Lorraine Hack, 9, of Olympia, gets direction in traditional Japanese dancing from Senryo Fujiyama, a dancer and instructor with Seattle's Toryo Kai dancers, during the 18th-annual Bon Odori Festival celebration on Saturday in dowtown Olympia. (Tony Overman/The Olympian) Lorraine Hack, 9, of Olympia, gets direction in traditional Japanese dancing from Senryo Fujiyama, a dancer and instructor with Seattle's Toryo Kai dancers, during the 18th-annual Bon Odori Festival celebration on Saturday in dowtown Olympia. (Tony Overman/The Olympian)

Olympia's Bon Odori is a festival of dance, remembrance

Olympia’s annual Bon Odori festival ends each year with the launching of candlelit paper lanterns, inscribed with messages of remembrance and peace, onto the water.

Shown on a monitor from his video arraignment, David Lukas Lynch is seen as he appears with his court-appointed attorney Charles Lane, left, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007, in Olympia, Wash. (Tony Overman/The Olympian file) Shown on a monitor from his video arraignment, David Lukas Lynch is seen as he appears with his court-appointed attorney Charles Lane, left, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007, in Olympia, Wash. (Tony Overman/The Olympian file)

County, David Lukas Lynch settle rape-arrest lawsuit

Thurston County will pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by an innocent man who was arrested in 2007 on suspicion of breaking into a southeast Olympia home and raping an 11-year-old girl.

Thurston County Restaurant Inspections

Before heading out to eat, check out how your favorite restaurant fared when inspected by the Thurston County Health Inspector!

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Animation Explosion workshop stimulates future filmmakers

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