Jean Godden is in, and Mayor Ed Murray is with her.
Jean Godden is in—and Mayor Ed Murray is with her. Heidi Groover

Did You Think City Council Member Jean Godden Was Going to Retire? Sorry, She Isn’t: Heidi Groover was at Godden's reelection campaign kickoff last night and reports the event was "held in a painfully beige room at the Mountaineers Program Center, where Godden told supporters, 'Those of us in our generation aren't done yet.' Under the new districts system, Godden is running in District 4, which covers Northeast Seattle, and she’s already raised $45,000. She said she wants another term to work on transportation, housing affordability, and gender pay equity. Plus, with three of her fellow incumbents retiring, she said she’ll be the 'institutional memory.' (Never mind the other five incumbents who are running for reelection, I guess?) Mayor Ed Murray was there, too, to tell the crowd that Godden is 'positive, she’s upbeat, and she’s tough—and, by the way, that’s what you need to win.' Despite being advertised as 'The only kickoff where you can get high' (get it?), there was no climbing wall in the room."

Seattle City Council member Mike OBrien kicked off his reelection campaign last night in Fremont.
Seattle City Council member Mike O'Brien kicked off his reelection campaign last night, too. Heidi Groover

Meanwhile, Over in Fremont... Heidi, who is so fast she can pretty much cover two events simultaneously, reports: "Over in Fremont, Council Member Mike O’Brien was having his kickoff at the same time, and his team put Godden’s to shame. O’Brien is running for the seat in District 6, covering Ballard and Fremont. Low lighting at the Abbey Arts Center made everyone look a little younger, the mashed potato bar included the fermented foods O’Brien’s wife makes (quirky!), and the photobooth—yes, there was a photobooth—included “Shell No” signs. That trademark grin O’Brien wears no matter what helped, too. Spotted on-site: former mayor Mike McGinn and current council candidates Halei Watkins (District 5, north), Michael Maddux (a Godden challenger in District 4, northeast), Jon Grant (citywide, position 8), and Lorena González (citywide, position 9).

State House Takes Up Transportation Package and the Fate of Light Rail in Seattle: Ansel reports: "The transportation committee in that chamber heard three hours of testimony yesterday on a statewide transportation package, passed out of the senate earlier this month, which would allow the Puget Sound region to tax itself and begin building out a larger light rail network. Mayors from around the state, including Seattle mayor Ed Murray, unanimously urged legislators to pass the package, which has died in previous years. As I explained here, however, the bill currently has some major flaws—chief among them a provision capping light rail taxing authority at $11 billion, instead of $15 billion. Tacoma mayor Marilyn Strickland was perhaps the most blunt: 'When you get off the plane at Sea-Tac,' she said, 'you can ride light rail to Seattle. And we should be able to do that to Tacoma, too. Please give us $15 billion. This is something that our region needs desperately. They [voters] have told us unequivocally that they need transit.'" (More on the hearing, and where we go from here, later today on Slog.)

Fleeing King County: "It’s no secret that newcomers are pouring into King County from around the country and the globe," writes Gene Balk. "But could we also be witnessing the emergence of a countertrend — that of a growing number of folks fleeing pricey King County and heading south to Pierce?" The answer seems to be yes, and the piece wonders whether the high cost of living in King County might be the main reason.

HBO Expanding in Seattle: "HBO already had a big Seattle office, but now you can add the New York television network to the list of companies expanding their presence here," reports the Puget Sound Business Journal. "HBO will lease 11 floors of the new Touchstone-developed Hill7 building on Boren Avenue and Stewart Street in downtown Seattle. The office will be 112,000 square feet, four-and-a-half times as much space as HBO currently occupies at Metropolitan Park East at 1730 Minor Ave."

Sting at the Orion Motel: "By the time Seattle police converged on the Orion Motel, undercover officers and detectives had spent months posing as pimps, prostitutes, and drug buyers to gather evidence of the criminal goings-on they say have long plagued the 28-room property," the Seattle Times reports. "Though the department’s Vice & High Risk Victims Unit routinely busts pimps and johns along the same stretch of Aurora Avenue North, this was the first time the unit had focused on a specific business. The high volume of suspected criminal activity led detectives to a pair of unusual targets: the Orion’s managers, a married couple who had lived on site for the past eight years."

HUNGRY! And headed toward the Columbia River in unusually large numbers.
HUNGRY! And headed toward the Columbia River in unusually large numbers. Sheila_Fitzgerald/Shutterstock

Hungry Sea Lion Invasion: "California sea lions are literally piling into Astoria's East Mooring Basin," KUOW reports. "They've taken over every square foot of the boat docks, and they're even lying on top of each other for lack of space." What's to blame? It might be "unusually warm water temperatures in the Pacific" that have affected the sea lions' food supply and sent them toward the Columbia River.

What's Going On with This New Amanda Knox Verdict? "If Italy’s highest court upholds Amanda Knox's murder conviction Friday, Italian cops aren’t going to descend on Seattle and whisk her off," Isolde Raftery explains. "At least not right away."

Harry Reid Is Retiring: "Senator Harry Reid, the tough tactician who has led Senate Democrats since 2005, will not seek re-election next year," The New York Times reports, "bringing an end to a three-decade congressional career that culminated with his push of President Obama’s ambitious agenda against fierce Republican resistance."

Germanwings Copilot Reportedly Hid Medical Issue: "The co-pilot suspected of intentionally crashing Germanwings Flight 9525 apparent tried to hide his medical treatments from the airline, including tearing up a note on the day of the crash, a German prosecutor said Friday," according to the Washington Post. "The statement gave no details on the medical issues, but Germany’s Bild newspaper reported that Andreas Lubitz had been treated for at least one 'serious depressive episode' in the past and had to suspend his flight training because of psychological issues."