Bloglander

A gift that keeps on taking Right, it wasn't really a gift, but the Spokane County Raceway will receive another installment of taxpayer cash — this time it's $250,000 for safety improvements. With Commissioner Mark Richard out sick, Commissioner Bonnie Mager was able to derail requests for more cash, which total $1.1 million for improvements at the raceway. The county bought the raceway for $4.3 million two years ago. (SR)

End liquor socialism! That's the word coming out of Olympia today, as sponsors of Initiative 1100 say they'll turn in 350,000 signatures for their gambit to end state control of liquor stores. The I-1100 campaign, funded mainly by Costco, only needs about 240,000 signatures to reach November's ballot. Viva la initiative and referendum process! (SR)

Forest fires are rock stars That is, fire experts are predicting this season's fires to burn very intensely but only for a brief amount of time, thanks to the wet spring. So be careful when you hold those lighters aloft when the forest launches into a righteous rock ballad. (KXLY)

Drill, baby... wait, don't drill again Just hours after a New Orleans judge ruled against the Obama administration's ban on deepwater offshore drilling, the White House said it was appealing the decision and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued another moratorium. The ban remains, but it probably won't last as long as the hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil in the Gulf. (AP)