Listen to Mayor Ed Murray Explain to Eli Sanders His Position on Shell Oil Rigs in Seattle: Right here.

Here's What Murray Says About the Permit for Terminal 5: "Our permit said that these aren't fishing boats, these aren't cargo, this is an oil-drilling rig and a significantly big one and that is not in compliance with the original permit."

Here's What Murray Says About the Seattle Times Editorial Scolding Him for Not Being Friendlier to Shell Oil: "I think the Seattle Times is suggesting that what I should have done is stepped into the process and done something very political to make them happy by telling the department to change the permit so the port could bring the oil rig in. I think that's pretty unconscionable reasoning in that editorial."

Murray Calls Out Shell and the Seattle Times for "Outdated Approaches to Energy and to Business." And he adds, "We deal right now with the impact of climate change. It's not coming, it's here. We now have rainstorms in Seattle like we've never had before… The governor has to deal with incredible forest fires. Our snowpack is the lowest in living memory, and if that were to happen a second year in a row, this city would have a water crisis. So we're responding to a desperate need to get people's attention that we have got to change business as usual when it comes to the energy industry."

As for Protesting Shell in a Kayak, the Mayor Would Like You to Remember That Water Is Dangerous: "People die in kayaks in our lakes all the time."

Shell's Arctic Drilling Fleet Has Already Had Numerous Small Spills in Washington State Waters: Sydney Brownstone has made a handy list of them.

High Times Editor Says About Washington State: "As Far as I Can See the Politicians and Bureaucrats Are Completely Screwing Up Your Marijuana Program There." As the P-I reports, High Times has canceled their Cannabis Cup in Seattle because the liquor control board is just so damn uptight.

Hey, SeattlePI, How Stoned Were You When You Were Writing/Editing That Cannabis Cup Piece? Also, have you ever looked at your website? Seriously, have you ever just loaded your website and looked at it? Do you realize what your website looks like? Do you realize you have ads between your headlines and first sentences that are BIGGER than the headlines? It's kinda confusing! Here's a screen grab:

Look: If you want to run an advertisement right between the headline and the first sentence, okay bro, or should I say brah, that's your call, I think it's crazy to be interrupted literally the moment I begin to read something with text that's way more prominent than the text I'm trying to read, but okay. But it's extra crazy to make the gigantic interruption an ad for having better grammar when the so-small-you-almost-can't-even-see-it first sentence you're squashing is a grammar disaster. I should talk, Slog often has typos, but you have more resources than we do, and (1) "marijuana related" needs a hyphen, (2) you don't know what an ellipsis is, and (3) it's "its." Or are you just messing with us? Practical joke? Improve your English!

A Washington State Patrol Trooper Is Accused of Burning Evidence Connecting His Son to a String of Crimes in Olympia: As KOMO reports, police "found ashes and debris in a wood stove that they believe are remnants of the ski mask worn during the crimes."

They Still Haven't Figured Out What Caused an E. Coli Breakout at a Fair in Whatcom County Two Weeks Ago: At least 45 people are sick and eight have been hospitalized, including "a teen who was hospitalized for 10 days... after he helped set up a hay maze at the festival."

NSA Bulk Collection of Phone Data: Is illegal, a federal appeals court in New York says.

The US Department of Justice Will Conduct a Federal Civil Rights Inquiry into the Baltimore Police Department: The new attorney general, Loretta Lynch, announced it this morning.

There Were Nine Shootings in Baltimore in a 24-Hour Period Yesterday: At least two of which were fatal.

David Byrne: Is escalating the battle against Spotify.

President Obama's Review of Portland, Oregon: "Mount Hood, the Greenery—I Don't Want to Go!" That's what he says at the 1:00 mark. Shout-out to kayakers at 3:50.

Portland Is Just as Worried About Becoming San Francisco: As we are.