Sausage Links, bag fees and phone ban edition

Plastic bag fees are so rive gauche. First, Seattle instated a 20-cent fee on disposable plastic bags. Then Portland decided to consider a similar idea. Now, the residents of Pullman say they want a bag fee, too. ...

Meanwhile, Chris Mulick at the Tri-City Herald reports that only one of the summer's top fundraisers for the state's legislative races is a Republican. ...

Cross-dresser: Despite being the chair of Republican John McCain's presidential campaign in Oregon, U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., can't stop touting his work with Democrats Barack Obama and John Kerry in his own campaign ads. ...

Right cross: The editorial board at The Seattle Times predictably blasts the state Supreme Court for their decision yesterday to exempt the identities of school teachers with unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct against them from the Public Disclosure Act. ...

Left cross: Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly says Karl Rove and Co. are driving the Straight Talk Express into the mud. ...

Critical fuss: After yesterday's uproar over a proposed bike helmet mandate in Oregon, state lawmakers are backing away from the idea. ...

Green critique: Times columnist Nicole Brodeur says Mayor Greg Nickels "seems determined to make his mark as the greenest guy since Kermit the Frog." ...

Mean critique: Aside from high fares and food prices, the latest customer satisfaction survey about Washington State Ferries says the "grouchy" staff and hard seats are among the many reasons the aging system is struggling to stay afloat. ...

Mean streets: Another Alaska politician, another abuse-of-office investigation. This time it's prospective Republican V.P. candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. ...

Easy street: The Service Employees International Union is paying big bucks to unseat incumbent Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson. ...

Cell phone driving death watch: After a month on the books, local cops haven't issued very many tickets for Washington state's new law banning the use of cell phones while driving. Legislators in the other Washington, meanwhile, are proposing a law that would ban any use of cell phones in airplanes, even if they're on the ground. It's called the Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace (HANG UP) Act. No word yet if a law to ban loud babies from planes is also in the works. ...