1. Putting aside misgivings about the cost and size of the project, as well as the fact that it includes light rail between Vancouver and Portland, a legislative committee voted yesterday to approve the $3.4 billion Columbia River Crossing project, the Oregonian reports.

Too bad it was the Oregon legislature. Here in Washington, Republican legislators dead set against light rail on the bridge have vowed to block funding for the project. 

2. More news from the southwestern corner of Washington: The Columbian reports that state Rep. Jim Moeller (D-49, Vancouver) has proposed a bill aimed at destigmatizing people with HIV/AIDS by expanding penalties for those who intentionally infect others with an infectious disease to include all serious diseases, not just HIV/AIDS.

The original bill was intended to create stricter penalties for those who intentionally spread HIV, but Moeller, according to the Columbian, argues that the law should apply to all dangerous diseases, not just HIV. 

3. Nationally, women working full-time make, on average, 81 percent of what men working full-time make. In Washington state, however, that number drops to 75 percent, the Economic Opportunity Institute reports—in part because the state has so many high-paying jobs in the high-tech, information, and science sectors, which are dominated by men. However, that doesn't account for the entire gap; in the health care sector, for example, women working full-time as health technicians take home just two-thirds the pay of their male counterparts. 

4. Finally, in breaking news, KOMO reports that "people are not happy" that parking costs money.