When Jimmy Carter came to Washington

(Pictured: Jimmy Carter visited Washington twice between 1976 and 1980. Photo credit: Plains Historical Preservation Trust).

By Josh Cohen

CascadePBS.org

Before Jimmy Carter died Dec. 29, 2024 at 100, the 39th president made two memorable visits to Washington, one before and one after he was elected to the White House.

The peanut farmer and former Navy officer entered politics in 1963, winning election to a seat in the Georgia state Senate. In 1970, he was elected as Georgia’s governor.

Seattle for a speech at the American Legion convention at Seattle Center Coliseum (now Climate Pledge Arena). Carter had already beaten Washington’s then-U.S. Sen. Henry M. Jackson in the Democratic primary and was now facing Republican incumbent Gerald Ford. Speaking to about 25,000 veterans just a year after the end of the Vietnam War, Carter said he wanted to pardon Vietnam draft dodgers in an effort to move past the divisiveness of the war.

According to reporting by KIRO-7, the suggestion was met with boos and shouts from the audience. Carter followed through with a presidential pardon of draft dodgers on his second day in office. Carter won the national election, but 52 percent of Washington voters chose Ford in ’76.

Some of Carter’s priorities in office would mirror Washington’s contemporary policy direction. For example, despite his reputation for austerity, Carter proposed welfare reforms that included guaranteed basic income and a federal jobs guarantee. But the idea never received a vote in Congress. 

Carter returned to Washington near the end of his presidency in the wake of the Mt. Saint Helens eruption. On May 23, 1980, five days after the volcano erupted, Carter took a helicopter flight out of Portland to survey the damage. After the flight landed at the Kelso, airport, Carter, told reporters, “I don’t know if there is anything like (the volcanic devastation) in the world. There’s nothing left but massive piles of mud and what used to be mountain. It’s an unbelievable sight.”

Source: Cascade PBS, a journalism site covering the Pacific Northwest.

School measures on ballot

Voters in two Pierce County school districts are deciding the fates of funding requests in a special election.

Voting ends Feb. 11, the dates when ballots must be deposited in official ballot boxes or mailed to the county elections department.

Puyallup School District is asking for bonds to replace aging school buildings and enhance safety and reduce overcrowding in certain schools. Passage of the measure requires a 60 percent majority of votes.

Yelm Community Schools is seeking approval (with a simple majority)  of a levy for educational programs and district operations. The district covers parts of Thurston County, where voters are also helping decide the levy’s outcome.

Information on their respective ballot measures is available from the school districts. Information about the election, including questions about ballots, is available from the county at 253-798-8683 and elections@piercecountywa.gov.

Wards Lake Park in Lakewood is closed until this November while it’s getting new trails and other improvements.

A $3.2 million contract awarded by the City Council to Redside Construction will pay for what officials call “significant changes” to the park located in the northeastern part of the city. They include and handicap-accessible loop trail with a 170-foot-long bridge over the lake, a new playground, picnic shelter and restroom, a bird blind overlooking the lake, public art, increased parking, and an off-leash dog park.

Wards currently covers 22 acres and already has trails for walking, a fishing dock, and a playground. It’s one of 15 parks or trail systems managed by Lakewood.

Free help filing tax returns

It’s federal income tax season, and two free tax-preparation services are getting ready to help filers.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide provides tax assistance to anyone, free of charge, with a focus on taxpayers who are over 50 and have low to moderate income. Tax-preparation sites, manned by IRS-certified volunteers, open the first week of February and close at the end of the filing season, typically April 15.

Locations of Tax-Aide sites are available at aarp.org and 888-227-7669.

The IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals, including people with income of $67,000 or less, and people who are disabled persons and/or speak limited English. In addition, TCE sites, most of which are operated by Tax-Aide, offers free help for people 60 and older with questions about pensions and retirement-related issues.

More information, including the nearest VITA or TCE sites, is at irs.gov and 800-906-9887.

Since 1968, Tax-Aide has helped more than 80 million taxpayers. This year, it’s expected that the nearly 28,000 Tax-Aide volunteers nationwide will assist nearly 2 million people.

VITA has operated for more than 50 years.