Patty Murray: Politically vulnerable?
Patty Murray: Politically vulnerable? Courtesy of Senator Patty Murray

Potentially Bad Poll Numbers for Patty Murray: "A new poll finds U.S. Sen. Patty Murray with tepid job-approval numbers — but a big early lead over her Republican challenger — as she gears up for her re-election campaign in 2016," Jim Brunner reports. "Just 41 percent of voters surveyed gave the four-term Democrat a positive job rating, while 49 percent rated her performance 'only fair' or 'poor,' according to the statewide Elway Poll released Wednesday."

The Bertha Landes Approach to Seattle Police Reform: Fire the Bastards.

A Rarely Used Gun Registry: "Two years ago, Washington lawmakers created a registry for individuals convicted of a gun-related felony," KUOW reports. "The law was sold as a way to improve police officer safety by creating a database just for them. But it’s hardly being used."

The current city council has effectively voted, and the result is 6 - 2 against their colleague Kshama Sawant being reelected.
The current city council has effectively voted, and the tally is 6 - 2 against Kshama Sawant being reelected. Kelly O

This Is Unusual, But a Majority of the Seattle City Council Has Come Out Against Kshama Sawant's Reelection: "In the big-money race for the Seattle City Council’s District 3 seat, every sitting council member has now picked a side, something Councilmember Mike O’Brien and others can’t remember ever happening before," reports Daniel Beekman. "Council members hardly ever back candidates challenging a colleague, and rarely do all get involved in one race. O’Brien and Councilmember Nick Licata are supporting Sawant while six others have endorsed her opponent, Pamela Banks." The Stranger Election Control Board disagrees with the council majority.

Why Is Council Member Sally Bagshaw, in Particular, Opposed to Sawant's Reelection? “People who live in (more affluent neighborhoods such as) Washington Park and Madison Park and Broadmoor and Montlake should have a representative who will talk with them," Bagshaw told Beekman. "I believe one candidate will do that.” (Bagshaw also told Beekman: "I believe council members should sit down and talk with other council members, solve problems together and not make an us-versus-them argument and definitely not trash their colleagues.")

Two Weeks After It Sued the CIA, Data Is Stolen from the University of Washington's Center for Human Rights: "Earlier this month," Ansel reports, "a landmark lawsuit [was] filed by the University of Washington's Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) against the Central Intelligence Agency seeking information about possible war crimes committed in El Salvador during that country's civil war. Over the weekend, someone broke into the office of Angelina Godoy, the center's director. 'Her desktop computer was stolen, as well as a hard drive containing about 90 percent of the information relating to our research in El Salvador,' the center said in a statement on Tuesday."

Free Healthcare This Weekend! As Seattlish points out, a "giant free health clinic" is happening this weekend at Key Arena. Go get some no-cost medical, dental, and vision care! And whether you're going or not, watch the video. What would happen in America if we decided to provide healthcare to everyone who needs it? Something like this.

A New National Park in Washington: "On November 10, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of the Interior will enter into an agreement establishing the Manhattan Project National Historical Park," KUOW reports. "In many ways this will be a different sort of national park: It will be co-run by the two agencies and span three sites in three states: Hanford in Washington, Oak Ridge in Tennessee and Los Alamos in New Mexico. These are the places that made the two bombs dropped on Japan during World War II."

Clinton Testifies Before Congress About Benghazi: Happening now. "Mrs. Clinton’s testimony, in the Capitol Hill hearing room where she appeared as first lady to defend her proposed health care legislation in 1993, is expected to last eight to 10 hours," the New York Times reports.