Sausage Links, 'you'll shoot your Eyman out' edition

Ballot king Tim Eyman had to be happy to see Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly say his traffic congestion measure, Initiative 985, "might be on to something" and deserved a "closer look." Unfortunately for Eyman, the Office of Fiscal Management released a report today stating the initiative would, among other things, cost the state $668.6 million already going to current congestion relief projects, cost the state $324.6 million to implement, cost the Washington State Arts Commission $500,000 over the next five years, and increase the state's budget deficit by an estimated $290 million. The Washington Policy Center Blog has the full breakdown. Meanwhile, David Goldstein at Horse's Ass points out that I-985 would be one more reason Eastern Washington voters would continue to hate Seattle. ...

Get well soon: Longtime Seattle City Council member Richard McIver, 67, has suffered a setback from his recent colon surgery and was placed in intensive care yesterday. Members of his staff, however, say they expect him back at the office "in very short order." ...

Get well later: King County Executive Ron Sims says he'll try to solve the county's data-processing dilemma before 2012. ...

Who's the boss? Lawyers for the city of Seattle are arguing that Mayor Greg Nickels' "green" views are irrelevant in tree preservation cases. ...

Who's the favorite? Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire and GOP challenger Dino Rossi have agreed to field five questions from You Tube users and post their answers on the site. Users have until Aug. 12 to submit their questions to the candidates. ...

Whom are you kidding? Eric Earling at Sound Politics says the latest figures from Washington pollster Stuart Elway, which show Gregoire leading Rossi by an astounding 16 points, isn't worth fretting over. ...

Attack ads: Jeff Mapes at The Oregonian breaks down the latest attacks between U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley. ...

Attack Dawgs: A group of Washington State University alums argue that the University of Washington shouldn't pilfer $150 million in public financing for Husky Stadium renovations because of "athletic ineptitude." ...

Easy endorsement: The Seattle Times editorial board says voters should re-elect incumbent state Auditor Brian Sonntag, while the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says voters should re-elect incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson. ...

Easy exit: Foot-tapping U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, will not be returning to the scene of the crime Minneapolis for the Republican National Convention, nor will U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., who plans to spend the week not being photographed next to other Republicans, dontcha know. ...

Update: The Stranger has posted a video of their editorial board's interview with Gov. Chris Gregoire. It's worth a look.