In her bid for governor, Attorney General Christine Gregoire has proven she can raise money: a whopping $458,821 in May alone. She's proven she can spend money too: $377,406 in May alone, mostly on staff and high-priced consultants. In fact, despite having raised some $2.2 million overall, Gregoire only had $877,620 available for her primary race against King County Executive Ron Sims (she has another $271,000 banked, but rules mandate that dough for the general election).

Sims, who is raising far less, is also spending far less. According to Public Disclosure Commission filings, he had $629,944 on hand for the primary at the end of May. In other words, while Gregoire leads handily in the polls, the money race is far closer than it appears at first glance. SANDEEP KAUSHIK

Gay Intervention

A team of conservative gay-marriage opponents scored a victory earlier this month, when King County Superior Court Judge William Downing allowed them to intervene in Anderson v. Sims--the case of eight couples suing the county and the state for the right to marry. The interveners include two state lawmakers who helped craft the state's DOMA law, plus religious groups.

"We're going to have a number of arguments made that will be offensive," says Jamie Pederson, one of the attorneys for the couples. While the interveners' original motion to join the case was measured, they are scheduled to file a brief on June 24 outlining their case, and it might prove Pederson's point: "The kinds of things they are likely to say will probably help make the point that we're trying to make, about how much discrimination there is against gay and lesbian people."

Given that the interveners' motion to join the case urged the court to consider "the moral, sociological, and personal ramifications of redefining traditional marriage," rather than the legal issues at hand, the judge may indeed be treated to some skewed theories. AMY JENNIGES