Gregoire's planned announcement on budget cuts may be delayed by a check-in for jury duty. But she'll make 'em eventually. They don't call her Judge Hatchett for nothing. Meanwhile, in the Dept. of Duh, some Seattle Times staffers are now openly griping about managers' pay, including the salary of the big man Frank Blethen. more ›

To everyone who remembered to vote, bless you. To everyone in King County, up to and including those who spaced on yesterday's mail-in election, congratulations: you get Sherril Huff as your Director of Elections for another few years. Even before all the absentee ballots rolled in, officials declared that Huff won a "decisive victory" over the other, mostly unqualified candidates. She will earn $146,000 a year, which is almost half of what it will cost the county to pay for the special February election. The King County Elections office has an interesting set of graphics on their site that clarify how they operate; it's worth a look [pdf], especially the second page, which shows the process each ballot undergoes in order to be counted. more ›

At the risk of stirring the pot, if Ceis doesn't think a member of the Seattle City Council can weigh in on a $60,000 pay increase--while implying that the Mayor's Office is willing to look the other way at any Council staff salary-plundering so long as Hizzoner gets the staff he wants--we will personally sit down with Ceis and explain why we think that's a terrible, terrible precedent to set. You could argue that it's the polar opposite of the example we might hope from city leadership, though ironically, his quote does point to the need for a good communications director. (This mutual respect for autonomy seems to apply only to personnel decisions, given the city's attempt to raid the Council's tenant relocation fund.) more ›

reports on his blog that state Sen. Joe Zarelli recently hosted right-wing Israeli politicians and others at a two-day conference down in Vancouver, to fan the flames of Islamophobia. more ›

Majestic America is a Seattle-based company and the Empress of the North sailed out of Seattle before hitting a rock and drifting near Juneau--We just can't be satisfied with "it hit something during a turn." Last week while Seattlest was bitching about the lack of information on the grounding of the Empress a commenter suggested we check the gCaptain blog. more ›

Vitals: Scott Edward Kazmir, 23 yo LHP. Born in Houston, Texas. 6-0, 170. 24-22, 3.75 career. 2-2, 3.83 in 2007. $424,300 salary. more ›

Vitals: Carsten Charles Sabathia, 26 yo LHP. Born in Vallejo, California. 6-7, 290. 87-57, 3.94 career. 6-1, 3.65 in 2007. $8.75 million salary. more ›

Vitals: Justin William Germano, 24 yo RHP. Born in Pasadena, California. 6-3, 205. 2-3, 5.71 career. 1-0, 0.69 in 2007. No salary info. more ›

Vitals: Gregory Alan Maddux, 41 yo RHP. Born in San Angelo, Texas. 6-0, 180. 336-205, 3.07 career. 3-2, 3.20 in 2007. $10,000,000 salary. more ›

Vitals: Christopher Ryan Young, 27 yo RHP. Born in Dallas, Texas. 6-10, 260. 30-17, 3.84 career. 4-3, 3.11 in 2007. $600,000 salary. more ›

Vitals: Bartolo Colon, 33 yo RHP. Born in Altamira, Dominican Republic. 6-6, 245. 144-87, 3.97 career. 4-0, 3.66 in 2007. $16 million salary. more ›

Sorry about the two sports posts in a row. Hope you non-sportballers have scrolling capability. more ›

Vitals: Kelvim Jose Escobar, 31 yo RHP. Born in La Guaira, Venezuela. 6-1, 230. 87-84, 4.20 career. 4-1, 2.21 in 2007. $9 million salary. more ›

Via True Hoop, the News Tribune's Frank Hughes reports today that the Sonics' organization is "enveloped by a cloud of paranoia, mistrust, distrust and, now, anger." more ›

Vitals: 26 yo RHP. Born in Carson City, NV . 6-3, 210. 4-3, 3.61 career. 1-1, 2.75 in 2007. $384,523 salary. more ›

Vitals: 24 yo RHP. Born in Manakin Sabot, VA. 6-5, 200. 19-12, 3.66 career. 2-1, 2.75 in 2007. $1.03 million salary. more ›

Vitals: 29 yo LHP. Born in Wichita, KS. 6-2, 225. 36-43, 4.44 career. 3-1, 2.48 in 2007. $3.26 million salary. more ›

Vitals: 24 yo RHP. Born in Kennewick, WA. 6-2, 220. 46-53, 4.67 career. 1-0, 3.69 in 2007. $4.5 million salary. more ›

Vitals: 26 yo RHP. Born in Carson City, NV . 6-3, 210. 3-3, 4.10 career. 0-1, 3.86 in 2007. $384,523 salary. more ›

Vitals: 27 yo RHP. Born in Tainan, Taiwan. 6-3, 225. 27-13, 3.84 career. 0-2, 5.84 in 2007. $489,500 salary. more ›

Vitals: 27 yo LHP. Born in Oarai, Japan. 6-1, 212. 86-60, 3.14 in Japan. 2-1, 6.08 here. $4 million salary. more ›

Vitals: 26 yo RHP. Born in Tokyo, Japan. 6-0, 187. 94-45, 2.99 in Japan. 3-2, 4.36 here. $6.3 million salary. more ›

Vitals: 22 yo LHP. Born in Austin, TX. 6-1, 200. 0-3, 5.32 career and 2007 (he's a rookie). Acquired via trade from Texas (Brandon McCarthy) before this season. $380,000 salary. more ›

Vitals: 30 yo RHP. Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. 6-1, 210. 102-105, 4.34 career. 2-0, 3.75 this year. Acquired via trade in 2005. $13 million salary. more ›

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Vitals: 32 year old rhp. 6-4, 230. Born in Gastonia, NC. 124-88, 3.24 career. 1-1, 4.91 this year. Signed as a free agent, 12/05. $8.3 million salary. more ›

Vitals: 40 year old RHP. Born in Melbourne, FL. 6-2, 204 lb. 151-135, 4.21 career. 0-1, 1.50 this year. Signed as a free agent in 1995. $4 million salary. more ›

Vitals: 27 year old RHP. Born in Spring, TX. 6-5, 220lb. Acquired in 2005 from the Marlins via trade. 58-45, 3.84 career. 1-0, 1.80 in 2007. $6.7 million salary. more ›

Vitals: 36 years old, born in Louisville, signed as a free agent by the Indians in '05. 82-73 career record. $7 million salary. more ›

Bob Condotta of the Times was there, and has the scoop on his blog. more ›