Alright everybody. Let's head to Tacoma. If we hurry, we can help Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers catch sexual predators, gangsters, domestic violence abusers, and violent criminals. Why? Because they're giving away $250 gas cards and up to $1,000 in exchange for information that would lead to arrests. Here's the list of criminals. Start hunting. After all, what better incentive is there to dodge outrageous gas prices than to catch perverts? Don't answer that.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just take light rail all the way to Olympia? Well, don't expect to. Despite Sound Transit's latest plan to extend mass transit around Puget Sound, the folks at the News Tribune notice the proposed plan doesn't do much for Pierce county residents. Meanwhile, David Goldstein at Horse's Ass reports that Washington state Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond is planning to vote against the proposal. ...
Inevitable: Gov. Chris Gregoire says she'll only raise taxes as last resort to balance the state's budget, despite facing a possible deficit of more than $2.5 billion.
Unbelievable: Eric Earling at Sound Politics says Gov. Gregoire's campaign is "redefining small ball" with its latest effort in campaign sign micromanagement. ...
Believable: Jeff Alworth at BlueOregon takes a look at the latest poll numbers from Pew and says the Democrats have the edge this November.
Cleavable: The op-ed board at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer backs King County's right to save the environment and piss off clear-cutters and farmers. ...
Laudable: FCC Chairman Kevin Martin comes down hard on Comcast for "violating agency principles" that guarantee customers open access to the Internet. ...
Democratic enemy number one: It's been quite a day for Al Gore-killer Ralph Nader, who recently filed to be placed on the ballot in Washington state. Chris Mulick at the Tri-City Herald reports Nader's campaign is excited about its low numbers in the latest state poll, while Jeff Mapes at the Oregonian says no one in Oregon's Green Party could care less about the 74-year-old candidate. ...
Democratic enemy number two: With Gov. Gregoire's stream of attacks on the Building Industry Association of Washington, Chris McGann at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wonders if she's running a re-election campaign against Republican Dino Rossi or the BIAW. ...
New enemy: Oregon's Democrats are leveling their attacks on someone other than Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, for a change. This time they're going after Republican candidate Allen Alley. ...
Botched job? David Goldstein at Horse's Ass continues his case against state Attorney General Rob McKenna, today claiming McKenna purposely botched the top-two primary debacle. ...
Botched and bitter: Republican legislative nominee Jeff Duyck made a formal appeal to state election officials yesterday, after being booted from the race for living 125-feet outside of the district he was running in. Meanwhile, Oregon Republicans continue to blame the mess on Democrat and "Secretary of Stupidity" Bill Bradbury.
State of bliss: After his visit to Oregon, RFK Jr. says he wishes he could live in the Northwest. ...
Swing state? McCain prepares for battle in Washington state. ...
State parks: P-I columnist Joel Connelly has a column running today in which he compares national parks to "killing fields," while on Strange Bedfellows, the P-I's political blog, he argues that global warming is a national security issue. ...
And finally, ol' Lou Guzzo at Whacky Nation keeps losing his marbles again and again. Today's moment is brought to you by political polls, which ol' Lou says should be "outlawed" or ignored during political campaigns. Hmm. Tell that to Gregoire or Rossi or Stuart Elway, Lou. I'm sure they'll be happy to take your advice.
