Doug Sutherland, Washington's outgoing Public Lands Commissioner, authorized the expansion of a sand mine on Maury Island last night, to environmentalists' chagrin and local construction companies' delight. The move comes just over four years after Sutherland established the Maury Island Aquatic Reserve (map [pdf]) in the first place. The mine expansion will apparently bring down the cost of concrete (local is cheaper) and benefit the environment by using barges rather than trucks to transport the sand. more ›

King County counted another 20,000-odd votes today, leaving Dave Reichert (R) up 1,965 votes over Democrat Darcy Burner in the 8th Congressional District race. It doesn't feel right to be calling it a race, exactly, at this point, unless there are molasses races we don't know about. There are still about 276,000 King County votes to be tabulated, and at 20,000-30,000 per shift, it's going to be a while yet before we have a final result. And then the recount can start. For those of you scoring at home, Peter Goldmark has a lead of over 40,000 on Doug Sutherland for Public Lands Commissioner, and Randy Dorn is up 43,000 over incumbent Superintendent of Public Schools Terry Bergeson. more ›