• Sources say an evangelist with a Bible allegedly assaulted Occupy Seattle journalist Michael Dare during the April 21 Coke-sponsored opening ceremonies for the Seattle Center's Next 50 celebration. Contrary to rumors, sources report that the attack was not also sponsored by Coke.
• Giant slides, a boulder garden, and rows of porch swings suspended from glass awnings are being planned for the Seattle waterfront, according to recent concepts presented by design firm James Corner Field Operations. Also being drawn up for the area: a public swimming pool on a barge anchored off Pier 62/63.
• In March, city council member Mike O'Brien kicked off his 2013 reelection bid by pledging to accept only $10 campaign contributions until he had "fired up" 1,000 people to support him, hopefully by the end of April. So how's his hippie-la-la campaign doing? So far, "630 [people] have joined Mike O'Brien's 10x1,000 Challenge," wrote O'Brien staffer and campaign volunteer Josh Fogt—on April 25.
• Sources say that during mass on Sunday, April 22, Seattle University campus ministry staff and Jesuit priests announced that the university would bar anti-same-sex-marriage petitions from being circulated at the Chapel of St. Ignatius (but stopped short of barring them from campus altogether). "After prayerful consideration, SU campus ministry has decided not to allow the collection of signatures for Referendum 74 at the Chapel of St. Ignatius, the spiritual center of the university and home to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends," said the statement issued by staff. "We're committed to forming students for a just and humane world." The proclamation was met with applause at both the 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. liturgies.
• The April 21 Organizing for America volunteer rally in Renton had three clear winners: an energized Ron Sims, whose short talk about political involvement had the crowd of 200 on their feet cheering; an impassioned Governor Chris Gregoire, who gave one of the liveliest speeches of her career (about the importance of having a ground game when running for office); and Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, whose soaring defense of President Obama had the audience buzzing about the possibility of voting for Patrick in the 2016 presidential election. A clear loser? Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee, who was almost entirely ignored by the aforementioned speakers (confidential to Inslee: Best start memorizing Gregoire's ground-game speech).
• The Seattle City Council should consider implementing tolls on highways and city arterial roads to pay for a citywide network of cycle tracks and other bike, transit, and pedestrian improvements, according to a set of recommendations devised by energy and sustainability professionals to help Seattle reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The council is expected to adopt some of the recommendations next fall after extensive public comment, giving Seattle Times editorial writers plenty of time to bitch. 
