• The group trying to overturn Washington State's marriage-equality law reported its first set of donors this week. The largest donor was the National Organization for Marriage, which gave $11,602 in services.

• In a decision that cannot be overruled, a Thurston County judge struck down Republican attorney general Rob McKenna's biased ballot language for Referendum 74, a petition filed by religious activists trying to overturn the state's same-sex marriage law. In McKenna's draft, R-74 was littered with the phrase "redefine marriage," which the National Organization for Marriage has long ballyhooed as its most effective talking point. While making other fixes, the judge replaced that charged language with the phrase "allow same-sex couples to marry."

• On March 7, the Washington State Supreme Court refused to hear a case on Seattle's 2008 ban on guns in parks—meaning that a lower court's ruling striking down the ban stays. The NRA cheered this "final victory for Seattle-area gun owners," while Mayor Mike McGinn fumed, saying, "A park is no place for a gun."

• Speaking of McGinn and guns, his reelection campaign was supposed to begin with a bang on March 9 with a surprise Macklemore performance at the Showbox at the Market. Instead, Macklemore played to a mostly empty venue, and McGinn raised only $5,000. (In comparison, Seattle City Council member Mike O'Brien raised $2,000 at his reelection kickoff, which was held in a cramped office space last Monday night and costarred a carton of deviled eggs.)

• In another mayoral bust, McGinn's town hall on March 13 began with a performance by youth breakdance crew Vicious Puppies. The only problem: The group, funded through the nonprofit Arts Corps, just got word this week that its city funding has been eliminated. Under the new voter- approved Families and Education Levy, funds have increased to support low- income kids and kids of color, and the mayor has also begun a citywide campaign to discuss the importance of arts education—but paradoxically, not a single arts organization was deemed "qualified" for levy funding this year. Sorry, Vicious Puppies, you're not "outcomes-based" enough to qualify for our money. But you can perform at our town hall, sure!

• On March 10, Democrat Jay Inslee announced he's stepping down from Congress so he can go "all in" on his run for governor against Republican Rob McKenna. Most polls showing Inslee lagging behind.

• Lots of candidates are filing to run for state legislative offices. After Representative Mary Lou Dickerson announced she's retiring from her post representing the 36th District, Seattle port commissioner Gael Tarleton said she's already raised $20,000 to run to replace Dickerson. Meanwhile, Sahar Fathi, a legislative aide to Seattle City Council member Mike O'Brien, is considering a run, too. Although she's only 28 years old, Fathi has earned a law degree from the University of Washington and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris (and served as a legal clerk for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda). In the 11th District, Representative Bob Hasegawa will run for state senate, while newcomer Bobby Virk will run for Hasegawa's old seat in the house. The other representative in the district, Zack Hudgins, has canceled his plan to run for secretary of state and will stay put in the legislature. recommended