Does Mayor Ed Murray Have a Personnel Problem? "Since Murray took office in January of 2014, 21 people have left the top floor of City Hall," David Kroman reports at Crosscut. "In an office of 40, which includes his Office of Policy and Innovation (OPI), that is a 52 percent turnover rate in about 18 months. In an examination of public records, Crosscut found that, since 1991, that rate is second only to the beleaguered administration of Mayor Paul Schell." One unnamed former employee told Kroman: “This mayor comes in and he’s the most ambitious, big thinking mayor with the highest expectations I’ve seen. It can lead sometimes to reactionary management decisions."

Environmental Groups Are Appealing a Superior Court Decision on Shell's Lease: The Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, and others claim an environmental review was necessary before the Port of Seattle leased space to Foss Maritime to store Shell's Arctic drilling rig "because mooring Shell’s oil rigs at Terminal 5 changed the use of the terminal," the Seattle Times reports. "The Port says Terminal 5 was exempt because that was essentially the same as its previous use as a cargo terminal." (This is separate from the ongoing consideration by the Seattle Hearing Examiner about the city's decision that a new permit is necessary for the rig to return.)

Cynthia Whitlatch Thinks She Was Investigated Because of Her Race: Ansel reports: "Public records obtained regarding the investigation of Cynthia Whitlatch—the Seattle police officer who came under fire for her arrest last year of then-69-year-old William Wingate, who is black, for allegedly swinging a golf club at her patrol car—reveal that the officer, who is white, believes she is a victim of reverse racism. The Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) carried out the investigation into the July 2014 incident, as well as racially fueled Facebook posts made by Whitlatch. The records show that Whitlatch accused Judge Fred Bonner, who is black, and Deputy Chief Carmen Best, who is also black, of collusion, and blamed her race for not being supported for her actions."

The Mariners Just Fired General Manager Jack Zduriencik: The team's president said in a statement, according to KIRO, "We are very disappointed with the results this season, and are not satisfied with the current operation. The search for a permanent general manager will begin immediately, and while there is no deadline, we expect to have a new GM in place as soon as practical.”

A Man Has Been Charged for Beating a Homeless Couple Under the Magnolia Bridge: Charging documents outline the details of Monday night's horrifying attack on a homeless couple under the Magnolia Bridge. The man arrested, 52-year-old Allen Robert Pulphus, beat the couple "without provocation using a wood and metal club he fashioned himself," KOMO reports. Pulphus is "charged with second-degree murder for the death of 48-year-old Stacey Davis and first-degree assault for the brutal assault of her husband, Scott Davis."

The State Supreme Court Ruled That Public Officials' Private Texts Are Sometimes Public Records: "In a unanimous decision, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled Thursday that text messages created on Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist’s private phone are public records if they pertain to public business," writes the Tacoma News Tribune. "The 9-0 ruling from the high court, written by Justice Mary Yu, comes in a case closely watched by open-government advocates, who praised the ruling as a precedent-setting and sensible decision for the digital age."

Seattle Has Finished Its First Minimum Wage Investigation: The investigation was into potential wage theft at Homegrown sandwich shop, which was miscalculating its tip credit, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports. The company's co-owner told CHS that "within days of receiving the notice" they paid employees backpay and interest.

"I Have Also Never Known a Human Lover to Reject Me with the Suddenness of a Breeze": Charles on his relationship with breezes.

The AP Is Suing the FBI: Remember in 2014, when the FBI sent a fake news link to a 15-year-old suspected of making bomb threats at a high school in Lacey in order to find out his location? The AP was pissed about that and now says it has requested "an accounting of how many times since 2000 the FBI has impersonated media organizations to deliver malicious software. In a response to AP, the FBI indicated it might take nearly two years to find and copy the requested records. AP’s lawsuit asks a federal judge to order the FBI to hand over the records."

An Air-Quality Monitor in Omak Measured Hazardous Levels of Smoke Yesterday: Sydney was out there and she reported on just how bad it was: "The smoke. Oh my fucking god, the smoke. You don’t get it until you see it. It’s thick and hot and makes your eyes water and the back of your tongue itch. The burned landscape looks like the fucking moon. Or Mars. Hills obliterated by the Carlton Complex fire last year are now blanketed with smoke. You can barely tell a smoky mountainside from a thinned lake the color of milk."

By the Way, You Don't Need to Volunteer to Fight Fires Anymore: "The Department of Natural Resources says it will close three volunteer intake offices on Thursday afternoon," the AP reports. "The offices are located in Omak, Colville and Castle Rock. Thousands of people applied in the past week to help battle the wildfires."

The Forest Service Will Run Out of Money to Fight Fires Sooner Than Expected: "The agency thought current funding, budgeted at just over 1 billion dollars for the year, would last through mid-September," KING 5 reports, "but now funds could be depleted in coming days."

More New Development Near Amazon: "A Beverly Hills company called H5 Capital is proposing the 42-story, two-tower project, which will go up on either side of the Seattle Times building on the block bounded by Terry and Boren avenues north and Denny Way and John Street," reports the Puget Sound Business Journal. "While the Times building will remain, the building that houses the 13 Coins Restaurant will be demolished, according to information the project team submitted to the city."