1. State Sen. Ed Murray tells the News Tribune that if his colleagues fail to reach a budget deal by June 11, the end of the current 30-day special session, the state will go off a "fiscal cliff," forcing the shutdown of numerous state agencies and functions.

Murray, of course, faces a fiscal cliff of his own—he's running for Seattle mayor, and can't raise any money until the senate adjourns for good, which might not happen until August if the legislature heads into a second 30-day special session after the end of July. 

2. A "gentrifier" responds to criticisms that his 2,400-square-foot, Five-Star Green-certified home (on a small lot, of the sort that have been vilified by density opponnets) is a blight on the neighborhood and its 4,000-square-foot single-family Craftsman homes at Smart Growth Seattle.  

"Within six months of possession, our fence had been spray painted twice with graffiti.  The first tag was, 'Gentrification Kills' and the other was, “F#%@ Gentrification’.  Both graffitis were removed." 

We wish them all the best (and envy their awesome-looking house)! 

3. Is naming a successor to recently deceased state Sen. Mike Carrell an emergency? That's the dilemma facing the Pierce County Council, which must decide whether to expedite the decision to name a successor, the Olympian reports. If they don't, the earliest a new senator (county Republicans have indicated a preference for former county council member Dick Muri) could take office is June 11, after the ongoing special session is through.

Currently, the state house is tied 24-24 between the Republican-dominated Majority Coalition Caucus (now 22 Republicans and two dissident Democrats) and the remaining 24 Democrats, with Democratic Lt. Governor Brad Owen in position to cast any deciding vote.  

4. Capitol Hill Seattle describes an appearance by mayoral candidate and newfound Lesser Seattle darling Peter Steinbrueck at a recent appearance at the Hill's Russian Community Center, where he told the small audience that his campaign is "not 'Not In My Backyard,'" but about "protecting what we value" and opposing "densinistas" who want density everywhere in Seattle—a term Steinbrueck used to describe a PubliCola writer during a recent interview. 

5. The Everett Herald outlines resigned Snohomish County executive Aaron Reardon's fall from grace—which involved a sex scandal, anonymous records requests aimed at his political rivals, and, ultimately, charges that he was involved in potential criminal harassment of his political foes—and profiles his just-appointed successor, Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick.