Tri-City Herald reporter Chris Mulick digs deep into Washington state's bungled attempt to land a $2 billion uranium enrichment plant, along with its 400 high-paying jobs. According to Mulick, Gov. Chris Gregoire chose not to pursue bidding for the plant, deciding instead to play it cool politically. As a result, Idaho got the plant. Washington lost the money. And Dino Rossi just got more ammo for his campaign. Still, Gregoire's got a sizable lead in the polls, at the moment. ...
The Seattle Times has a the first in a series of stories today about U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, and the 8th District race, mainly examining the congressman's party allegiance. It's already stirring up the waters at Sound Politics. ...
Meanwhile, the blogosphere is abuzz about Crosscut's "You, Anonymous" story about blog commenting and accountability. But the feedback ain't pretty. At Horse's Ass, we've garnered not one but two critical retorts. And at EFFin' Unsound, Carl Balard breaks down the article one paragraph at a time. ...
Northwest Progressive also took a negative stance to former Secretary of Transportation and Crosscut contributor Doug MacDonald's opposition to Eastside expansion of light rail, unleashing a torrent of criticism of MacDonald's analysis. ...
Take no prisoners: While the city of Seattle searches for a new jail site, residents are not exactly bending over backwards about the prospect of a prison in their backyards. ...
Hammering away: The editorial board of the Tacoma News Tribune took Sunday off and let Gov. Gregoire and Rossi write dueling opinion pieces about their respective campaigns. ...
Hitting the nail on the head?: The bloggers at NW Republican are furious about Oregon Democrats' calls for a state constitutional convention. ...
Hitting the nail on the coffin: The "death with dignity" initiative will be on the ballot in November, along with Tim Eyman's latest traffic-congestion measure. ...
Hitting the nail on the thumb: The headline of today's big feature in The Oregonian pretty much says it all. "America is falling apart" (part one) analyzes the "growing backlog of repairs to roads, sewers and other basics" that threaten our economy and livability. ...
Cell phone driving death watch: Armageddon is tomorrow for those of us who don't drive with hands-free devices. So get 'em soon while they last. The folks in New Jersey, however, say the upcoming cell phone ban is Blue Toothless. ...
And finally, it seems ol' Lou Guzzo at Whacky Nation has lost his marbles. Today's crazy Lou moment is brought to you by "the ugly practices of tattooing, body piercing." I thought this debate ended years ago, but apparently Guzzo went back in time to pen this post. No joke: Guzzo mentions "seagoing" men, the "evil influence of rock musicians," and even goes so far as to say people get piercings "because the aborigines do it." Shucks, Lou. Next thing you know, even the gays will get their own parade. ...
