• Despite a projected $32 million deficit for the city, Mayor Mike McGinn's 2013–2014 budget proposal makes millions in new public investments, including $24 million to hire new SPD officers and buy them a gunshot locator system, and $21 million to develop new biking greenways and repair sidewalks.

• Coming soon to Central Cinema: booze! Thanks to their newly minted liquor license, the neighborhood cinema will be launching a happy hour "IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE," reports cinema programmer Jason Miller.

• If you're a registered voter who received a postcard informing you that you're not registered, don't worry. The secretary of state's office led a voter-registration drive gone awry, erroneously sending out thousands of such warnings to voters due to mismatches between the voter rolls and the drivers' license database. Of course, if you received the postcard and you really aren't registered to vote, go to www.myvote.wa.gov and register, goddamnit.

• Next year, the city will be debuting a new way to extend your on-street parking stickers—via cell phone app, according to the mayor's office.

• Connie Rice, who has sued police departments in Los Angeles and New York, was in Seattle recently, working for the city to figure out if she can help us meet the terms of a federal decree to reform the Seattle Police Department. She says she doesn't know if she can help, but she had a message to the bitterly divided officials at City Hall: "We are going to have to get over that stuff."

• Local bakery Little Rae's is baking up partisan sugar cookies featuring the faces of President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, and politicos are eating them up. Jon Streeter, co-owner of City Hall's resident coffee shop City Grind, says that Romney's head is selling better than Obama's due to hate snacking. "People are giddy to bite that guy's head off," he explains. But citywide, Little Rae's reports that Obama's head is dominating: They've received orders for 154 Obamas and only 34 Romney heads.

• Seattle port commissioner Gael Tarleton, who's running to represent the 36th District, is fighting to shake criticism that she routinely talks a good game on the environment but, when it comes down to the wire, weakens green legislation and votes against environmental interests. "I have never voted against clean air while on the port commission," argues Tarleton. "I stand by my votes and my proven record to create a clean-fuel economy at the port while protecting the environment." But local Teamsters political action director Heather Weiner responds, "The lady doth protest too much, me thinks. Corporate polluters don't tend to give thousands of dollars to Seattle-area environmental champions." recommended