Olympia

Olympia: Home of the ancient Games

It's an election year and many senators are out campaigning their hearts out, but not every U.S. senator is up for reelection this year. Those who aren't on the campaign trail have plenty of time to do things like film cameos on "Parks and Recreation. " In the NBC comedy's fifth season premiere on Thursday night, Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope traveled from small town Pawnee, Ind., to the halls of power in Washington, D.C., and met some real-life politicians. California Sen. Barbara Boxer, Maine Sen. Olympia J. Snowe and Arizona Sen. John McCain all made brief appearances on the comedy, with McCain reiterating the comedic chops he practiced during his guest spot on "Saturday Night Live" back in 2008.

Regarding "Fickle Slope, Risky Climb" [April 12]: Pioneering climber Willi Unsoeld was a college instructor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., when he died on Mt. Rainier. His legacy endures at the campus. Kate Wall Pasadena

RANGELEY, Maine - The man who may tip the balance of power in the U.S. Senate next year was being introduced to the runner-up champion moose caller. This being Maine, the two had met before. Angus King has off-the-charts name recognition in the state, largely positive, from two terms as governor to which he was elected during the economically robust 1990s. Now, in the race to replace retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, that familiarity has made him the front-runner.

I enjoy reading articles by Russ Parsons. Not only does he write interesting stories, he frequently stimulates the palate with his words. In one sentence, describing the taste of Olympia oysters ["Return of the Native," Dec. 7], he captures the essence of this delicacy: "The first thing that hits you is the brine, like taking a sip of the ocean on a cold day." Exactly! MICHAEL GODFREY Ontario

Two armed robbers stole a painting by Belgian artist Rene Magritte from a small museum in Brussels on Thursday, police said. Brussels police spokesman Johan Berckmans said the men escaped by car with the 1948 "Olympia" oil painting. The nude portrait of the surrealist's wife, Georgette, is valued at $1.1 million. The painting hung at Magritte's former house, which has been turned into a small museum. Entry is by appointment only. It is separate from a larger Magritte museum that opened this year.

Cool, informative interview with Sleater-Kinney ("An All-Grrrl Band at Heart," by Richard Cromelin, March 16). But I've noticed in any article that mentions riot grrrl in The Times, the feeling is that the movement happened in '91, peaked in '93 and doesn't really exist anymore. Um, there were nine riot grrrl conventions last year. Three are already planned for this year (San Francisco, Olympia and Boston). Southern California is a center of grrrl music, including my band, Lucid Nation.

I was roaring with delight at Roy Rivenburg's Off-Kilter column on getting a made-up word in the dictionary ("A Little Wordplay for the Record," Aug. 6), and I throw my full support, meaningless as it is, behind "redundundant." I often make up words to shorten a sentence or "succinctify" it. I find "smallen" and "superfluocity" serve me well and would die a wildly happy woman should these words make it into a newspaper let alone a dictionary. J.R. ROGERS Olympia, Wash.

In " 'Palestine Is Everything' to the Arabs" (March 17), the timeline begins with the Palestinian uprising in September 2000. Why? A month and a half earlier was the historic turning point: the July 2000 Camp David Middle East peace summit, where Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat showed the true goal of the people he represents by refusing even to negotiate on the most generous offer ever presented for peaceful Palestinian statehood (aside...

Joe DiMaggio's brother says the Yankee Clipper would be honored to have his name on the playground where they romped as children. DiMaggio's lawyer says using the DiMaggio name at the San Francisco park is reprehensible. Now, after much dithering, city officials said they will rename the 2 1/2-acre North Beach Playground after Joltin' Joe, spend $5.8 million to renovate it and deal with the legal problems if and when they arise. The announcement will come today.

MassachusettsSen. Scott Brownhas picked up the endorsement of outgoingSen. Olympia Snowe, the Republican senator from Maine who last week scolded the chamber for becoming a “parrallel universe” of extreme partisanship. The endorsement from Snowe, known as one of the Senate's last moderates, could help Brown in his effort to win reelection nearly three years after he swept into office on the tea party wave. Anticipating a challenge from consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren, Brown has been campaigning as “an independent voice.” In her endorsement statement, Snowe echoed the slogan, praising Brown for his “independent spirit and bipartisan outlook.” “Like me, he approaches each issue with an open mind and is always willing to reach across the aisle to build bridges and find common ground,” Snowe said in a statement posted to Brown's campaign website.

Olympia Snowe, one of the Senate's few remaining moderate Republicans, announced Tuesday that she will not seek a fourth term in 2012. The 65-year-old, who had also served in the House for eight terms, said she came to the decision in part after reflecting on the increasingly rancorous climate in Washington. "I am a fighter at heart, and I am well prepared for the electoral battle," she said in a statement. "Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term.

In her solo show "The Night Watcher," Charlayne Woodard talks for nearly two hours, sharing stories about her heartfelt relationships with other people's children. In "Vigil," Morris Panych's 1995 dark comedy, Olympia Dukakis utters but 12 lines during her nearly two hours onstage as an elderly recluse visited by a loquacious loser. Dukakis, a supporting actress Oscar winner for "Moonstruck," and Woodard, a Tony nominee for "Ain't Misbehavin'," sat down with The Times in a downtown rehearsal room recently to discuss their plays, both of which are being presented by the Center Theatre Group.

Two key senators' support Monday for the sweeping overhaul of financial regulations gave Democratic leaders the votes they need for final approval this week, paving the way for President Obama to sign the landmark legislation into law. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, among a handful of Republicans who voted for the Senate's version of the legislation, said they would vote for the bill. They had balked last month at revisions made by a joint House-Senate conference committee to fund the bill's $19-billion cost over the next 10 years.

"Tales of the City" may have introduced author Armistead Maupin and Olympia Dukakis, the most memorable face from the three television miniseries adapted from the books. But American Conservatory Theater, the venerable resident theater on Geary Street led by artistic director Carey Perloff, is what keeps bringing them back together. A few weeks ago, when Dukakis was performing in Morris Panych's play "Vigil" at A.C.T., where she serves on the board of trustees, the theater announced that a musical of Maupin's beloved chronicle would have its world premiere there at the end of next season.

R.E.M.'s 'Live at the Olympia': One of the more distressing musical developments over the last decade has been R.E.M.'s tumble into mediocrity. This live "rehearsal" doesn't solve where Michael Stipe and Co. go next after 2008's promising "Accelerate," but it's wonderful to hear them burn through deep cuts like "Wolves, Lower" like the young, hungry band we once knew. 'Community's' Ken Jeong : We're not entirely sure about this show -- the smugness of Joel McHale's character is off the charts and his will-they-or-won't-they romance with Gillian Jacobs is tiresome.

The shifting tensions between artistic expression and social propriety receive wry scrutiny in Laura Shamas' "Portrait of a Nude" at West Coast Ensemble's comfortable new La Brea digs. Tracing two centuries of controversy surrounding Francisco Goya's "Naked Maja," a groundbreaking painting of a naked woman in unabashedly erotic recline, Shamas' thoughtful, carefully researched play isn't nearly as risque as its subject.

Rosemary Mallard had never been to Paramount High School Principal Douglas Rozelle's office, but earlier this month Rozelle went looking for her. "You never hear from these types of students. She isn't an athlete or cheerleader. She is low-key. A good student. She just does her job," said Rozelle, explaining Mallard's previous anonymity.

After months of wrangling over how to reshape the nation's healthcare system, the last of five congressional committees on Tuesday endorsed its sweeping blueprint for expanding coverage and containing costs. The 14-9 vote by the Senate Finance Committee sets the stage for the final legislative push amid intense lobbying by healthcare providers, consumer advocates, labor unions and other interest groups. Tuesday's vote also offered the first tangible sign that President Obama and his congressional allies might gain some GOP support in their healthcare campaign.

Providing a major boost to Democrats pushing for a health overhaul, Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe -- the most watched lawmaker in Washington right now -- has announced that she will back a sweeping healthcare bill being debated by the Senate Finance Committee. "When history calls, history calls," she said in announcing her plans after a long recitation of the problems confronting the American healthcare system, including rising costs and the swelling ranks of the uninsured.