• "I've never worked with a more insecure person. He melts like wet sugar whenever anyone criticizes him. He shouldn't be mayor, period," one political insider was overheard saying while on the phone. Which one of the six male mayoral candidates is the insider referring to, we wonder?

• Six months after Seattle's controversial bag ban was implemented, the measure was hailed as "popular and successful" at a January 15 meeting of the city council's Libraries, Utilities, and Center Committee. According to a recent survey of 891 people conducted by Environment Washington, 32 percent of consumers report that they bring their own bags "most of the time" when shopping, while another 34 percent say they bring their own bags every time. In addition, four grocery stores report carryout bag use has dropped by 15,000 bags per month since the law's July implementation.

• Governor-elect Jay Inslee refused to directly back up a pledge he made on the campaign trail to veto new taxes at a January 10 press conference in Olympia hosted by the Associated Press. Inslee had said during the campaign that he "would veto anything that heads the wrong direction and the wrong direction is new taxes in the state of Washington." But Inslee told reporters in January that he was willing to "entertain ideas... from every part of the political compass," adding later, when speaking about the transportation budget specifically, "I don't think we should take off the table any funding mechanism." When pressed for clarification—twice—Inslee continued to dodge the question and called the follow-up questions an attempt to "shanghai" him.

• Following his decision to accept a committee chair in the Republican-coup-controlled state senate, Senator Steve Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens) expressed hope that his fellow politicians could "put politics aside" for the legislative session. Likewise, if only the Atlanta Falcons had put football aside for the NFL playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks might still have a shot at the Super Bowl. Idiot.