1. Forget about Seattle, where onetime mayoral candidate Tim Burgess announced today (after firing his campaign spokesman and failing to file for the office at King County Elections) that he's dropping out of the race: The real news is, as always, in the suburbs. Specifically, Snohomish County, where county executive Aaron Reardon's alleged mistress was arrested this week on domestic-violence charges involving her ex-husband. 

According to KOMO, Snohomish County police showed up at the woman's house after she called 911, saying she and her ex had had a verbal and physical altercation. After talking to both, deputies decided that the woman was the primary aggressor and arrested her. She has been released from jail on the condition that she stays with her mother. 

2. The AP reports that the owners of the Sacramento Kings—the team San Francisco hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen had hoped to buy and bring to Seattle as part of the proposed arena deal—have signed an agreement selling a 65 percent ownership interest in the franchise to new owners who will keep them in Sacramento. The group of buyers is led by software tycoon Vivek Ranadive; the NBA is expected to approve the deal next week.

3. The Spokesman-Review's editorial board thinks I-522, the GMO labeling initiative, could be a great opportunity to educate consumers about genetic engineering. Noting that big ag companies like Monsanto have managed to bully their way into favorable U.S. laws and Supreme Court rulings (most recently, the Court ruled against a farmer who tried to get around Monsanto's patent on Roundup-Ready soybeans that resist the company's potent pesticide), the paper writes, "The debate over I-522 could be an opportunity to educate voters and consumers about the new era of plant science. Just watch out for the manure."

4. The (Grays Harbor) Daily World reports that Washington state Lieutenant Gov. Brad Owen has questioned whether state Sen. Jim Hargrove (D-TK) should be able to continue casting proxy votes for his Republican colleague Mike Carrell (R-TK), who has a blood disease and has been out of the legislature for much of the 2013 session, in light of the tense ongoing budget negotiations in the closely divided senate. 

The senate is controlled by the "Majority Coalition Caucus," which consists of 23 Republicans and two conservative Democrats. Without Hargrove's proxy vote for Carrell, the senate could conceivably be split 24-24, allowing Owen to cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of the Democrats' budget.