1) I-1098, the high-eraners income tax initiative,  qualified for the ballot despite a fraud investigation into about 350 signatures of the 385,000 that were turned in.

The initiative—which would tax individuals making over $200,000 and couples making over $400,000—is being pushed by  Bill Gates, Sr. and has big financial backing from the politically powerful SEIU union, which has kicked in nearly $300,000.

2) Gov. Chris Gregoire issued a formal statement on the emergency contraception story we've been covering for the past week.

Short version: The Washington State Board of Pharmacy wants to abandon the trial where it was set to defend its strong pro-choice rules re: access to Plan B and instead come up with weaker rules to reach an out-of-court agreement with religious, dissident pharmacies who want the option of sending patients to other pharmacies.

Gregoire has been a big advocate of access to emergency contraception (she hammered out the current rules that say pharmacies must fill all legal scrips). The board's decision to back down was, without Gregoire's knowledge, signed off on by Attorney General Rob McKenna's office, making this the second major disagreement between the the state's two top officials.

Here's her statement:

“I am not in agreement with the state Board of Pharmacy’s decision to reopen the rulemaking process which currently requires pharmacists to provide all legally prescribed medications to individuals. The rule, which the Board arrived at in 2006 through a complete and transparent public process, assures adequate access to medication, especially to rural and low-income communities.

“I am concerned that the Board appears to have a predetermined outcome in the new rulemaking process. I will not support a position that does not provide the same level of access, or better, than is currently offered. We cannot restrict access for patients. In rural parts of our state, eliminating access to medication could force people to drive miles to the next closest pharmacy, or simply force them to go without.

“Now that the Board has reopened the process, I hope it is again a fair and open public process that does not just serve the concerns of pharmacists, but represents the needs of all citizens of the State of Washington whom the Board of Pharmacy was appointed to serve.”

3. Tea Party insurgent Clint Didier released his fundraising numbers today.

•Total raised—$592, 580.07

•More than 3000 donors

•Average donation:  just under $200

•300 donations at $10 or less

•Only 2 pac checks: $5000—from Sarah PAC (that's Sarah Palin) and $2500, Freedom's Defense Fund, a Tea Party PAC that supports social conservatives like Peg Luksik in Pennsylvania who challenged the incumbent Republican Rep. Pat Toomey from the right. FDF has raised (and spent) about $2 million in 2010 election so far.

Didier spokeswomwn Kathryn Serkes, always quotable, said:

"Rossi and Murray are picking up big special interest PAC checks for thousands of dollars instead of getting support from individuals. Conventional wisdom holds that money is the mother's milk of politics. But I'd say that special interest money is the crack cocaine."