• Last week, Seattle Times reporter Jim Brunner reported on a letter US Attorney Jenny Durkan sent to Seattle's Community Police Commissioners chastising Mayor Mike McGinn for taking credit for creating the commission—a key part of the settlement to reform the Seattle Police Department—in his reelection campaign. Durkan, who is a family friend of McGinn rival Ed Murray, says in the letter that the US Department of Justice "formally propos[ed] a community based entity that we called the 'Community Monitoring Board'—with a significant role in the reform process somewhat modeled on similar successful endeavors in other cities." While the letter, cosigned by DOJ's Jonathan Smith, says "city leaders should be property credited in crafting the final agreement," they don't give the mayor any credit for the idea behind the commission. But interestingly enough, the DOJ said basically the opposite thing last year. At the press conference announcing the settlement on July 27, 2012, Durkan herself said the agreement "creates a community police commission. Mayor McGinn will be discussing this further, as he crafted this very important mechanism to ensure continued and meaningful public input." Reached by phone, a spokesman in Durkan's office refused to clarify her contradictory statements and political affiliations.
• Brace yourself for a round of applause: Gonorrhea infections in Washington State are up by more than one-third this year, making the clap the second most common (dare we say popular?) sexually transmitted disease in the state after chlamydia. For the love of your untainted junk, wear condoms and get tested regularly!
• Obscene amounts of cash continue to pour into the No on 522 campaign, the soda/chips/pesticide-manufacturer-funded campaign against labeling genetically modified food in Washington State. After another $3.7 million dumped in from the Grocery Manufacturers Association, $460,000 from DuPont, and $540,000 from Monsanto, No on 522 has now raised nearly $22 million to prevent labeling on grocery store shelves. The Yes on 522 side has raised $6.8 million.
• Don't bother mailing in your ballot, for "we can already declare the big winner in Seattle," says Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat: "It's the socialist. Kshama Sawant." As Westneat points out, the two mayoral candidates have already embraced Sawant's "socialist" agenda—things like a $15-an-hour minimum wage, universal preschool, and expanding transit. But on second thought, why settle for a cheap imitation? Sawant actually stands a chance of winning more than just a symbolic victory, so mail in your ballot and help elect Sawant to the Seattle City Council. 
