End of an Era: Workers cleared and closed off the illegal dump on the site of a failed subdivision in Skyway this week. Were they shamed into action by its inclusion in last Saturday's edition of this post?

On Second Thought: The state put out a call for unions to return to the bargaining table in the aftermath of the news of the projected $1.2 billion revenue shortfall in the near future. Happy campers or happiest campers?

A Peek at CD-3: Congresswoman-elect Jaime Herrera got lucky in the lottery for Capitol Hill office spots, leading to two incredibly dopey photos. Retiring incumbent Brian Baird is moving to CD-1 in Edmonds with $450,000 still left in his campaign piggy bank. Remember, that's the seat Rep. Jay Inslee might vacate to run for governor in 2012.

My Sympathy is Broken: The Air Force shared secret info with Boeing and Airbus about each others' bids. Poor contractors, I hope it won't muck up your chance to suck $40 billion from the federal teat! Oh, and Air Force—you must think we're really stupid if you think we're buying the clerical error story.

Jail to Close: The state is closing the McNeil Island Corrections Center, the only island prison in the country. Maybe they can just arrest fewer people now.

Steampunk in SeaTac: Paul already plugged it yesterday, but this weekend is the second-annual Steamcon. Crowds might reach as high as 5,000 on Sunday. It could be worse—it could be anime.

Thinking Outside the Welfare Box: Canada bats around proposals for a guaranteed minimum income of NSA cash transfers to the poor.

American Teens to Keep Dying, Killing in Afghanistan: NATO has set a target date of 2014 for its withdrawal from Afghanistan. If you were one of the dupes who still believed in Nobel laureate Obama's timeline, welcome to reality.

Military Coup Quashed: In Madagascar.

Mine Rescue on Hold: 29 miners remain trapped in New Zealand. Gas levels are too high for authorities to attempt anything. Here's hoping it ends as well as the Chilean situation.