Sausage Links, endorsement edition

It turned out to be a lucky weekend for civil litigator and state Supreme Court candidate Michael Bond, who got an endorsement Sunday from The Seattle Times because he is not his opponent.

Making a short case for Bond and a lengthy argument against incumbent Justice Mary Fairhurst, the Times editorial board argued Fairhurst "accepts the government's arguments — and excuses — far too much now that she is on the court."

The rebuke comes fresh off last week's Supreme Court decision to exempt teachers who have unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct against them from the Public Disclosure Act, a decision directly related to a 2003 Times investigation that uncovered hundreds of state school employees working despite previous sexual indiscretions. Fairhurst wrote the majority opinion, siding against the Times' right to access the privileged documents.

The Times did, however, endorse another Supreme Court incumbent, Judge Charles Johnson, who was one of three justices who dissented. ...

Speaking of endorsements, here's a roundup of last week's primary endorsements from the News Tribune. ...

Locked out: Libertarians say the new "top-two" primary hurts third-party candidates' chances at being elected. That's interesting. I didn't know they had any chance to begin with. ...

Locked in: Former Gov. Gary Locke will carry the Olympic Torch in the Sichuan province of China next week, Washington state's sister province. ...

Come on, already: The editorial board at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says now is the time to pass a mass transit plan. ...

Come on, really? Chris Mulick at the Tri-City Herald reports how local businesses are reacting to Forbes magazine's recent ranking of Washington state as the third-best place in the country to do business. ...

Come on, faster: Eric Earling at Sound Politics says state Republicans need to pick up the pace with fundraising. ...

Burned: Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly lists his rants and raves for the summer's caucuses, candidates, and issues. ...

Cooled: Republicans in Oregon are looking for a way to sell the state's plentiful water resources to help "water-poor communities out of state." ...

And finally, Sen. Barack Obama and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales are celebrating their birthdays today. Obama is 47 years old, and Gonzales is 53. Word on the street has it that Obama will celebrate by attending a party hosted by Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, while Gonzo will celebrate by not recalling that it's his birthday. ...