Initiative king Tim Eyman announced that the King County Corrections Guild has gathered the minimum number of signatures--about 44,000--needed to place an initiative on this year's ballot. The measure would reduce the King County Council from 13 members to nine. Eyman says "the Cadillac Council" is "a luxury we can't afford." The guild will continue to collect signatures through Monday, May 5, to cushion their numbers. SANDEEP KAUSHIK

Nickels' Trip

Hyping his $45 million South Lake Union streetcar, Mayor Greg Nickels organized an April 30 "field trip" to Portland to show Seattle leaders Portland's trolley. Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said the trip would highlight "similarities in how [the streetcar] was used to stimulate redevelopment" in Portland's former manufacturing area, the now-revitalized Pearl District.

The guest list includes Clise Properties exec and monorail board member Richard Stevenson, Vulcan reps, and developers--plus a couple dozen city staffers, whose expenses will be paid for by the city. ERICA C. BARNETT

Booking Bumbershoot

Literary vendors this year will pay more than twice last year's fee for a Bumbershoot booth. According to organizer Judith Roche, the number of booths was cut from 50 to 24, and the price per booth is doubling, from $220 to $500.

"I don't know who's going to cough up that money," says zine publisher Greg Hischak, who--after doing Bumbershoot booths since 1995--has decided to back out. "They want the alternative, underground scene to be represented, but they've priced it way outside of the slim profits of an underground press." CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

Monorail Loophole Closed

In an end-of-session compromise, Representative Ed Murray (D-43) convinced the state legislature to close a loophole that was hurting the monorail agency's bond rating potential. The fix allows the agency to keep collecting taxes to pay off monorail bonds, even if voters shut down the project. The legislation still leaves another loophole open, allowing folks to register cars out of town to avoid the monorail tax. ERICA C. BARNETT

Cloud Rumor

Rumor among a staffer or two is that the Camlin Hotel--the lovely downtown Seattle landmark that feels like the setting of a hard-boiled detective novel--will close on June 30. Its 11th-floor piano bar, the Cloud Room--where the grifters and broads slink--would also close, according to a tipster. Property manager BBS did not comment on the rumor, which one hotel staffer dismissed as unsubstantiated gossip. NANCY DREW