1. West Seattle Blog has the news that the developers that hope to build a new Whole Foods-anchored development on an underused portion of Fauntleroy Way defend their request for an alley vacation (Mayor Mike McGinn has recommended denying the vacation on the grounds that Whole Foods isn't unionized) on the grounds that the developers are providing "public benefits," including street widening, landscaping, and a new bike lane.

Whole Foods, meanwhile, tells WSB they are a "good employer, a good neighbor, and a good citizen." 

2. In the Seattle Times election team's ongoing series on the mayoral candidates (previous profiles have been written by reporters Emily Heffter, Brian Rosenthal, Jim Brunner, and Bob Young), the Times' Lynn Thompson profiles Mayor Mike McGinn, saying the mayor "still enjoys strong support from younger voters and those who see him as a visionary leader trying to reduce the city’s carbon footprint" but remains "in a statistical dead heat with state Sen. Ed Murray ... with Councilmember Bruce Harrell and former Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck not far behind." 

3. Good news for King County Metro? Hard to believe, but Seattle Transit Blog sees progress in Metro's sales tax revenues and forecast, which show growing numbers—and could decrease the projected 17 percent reduction to bus service officials have predicted as a result of the state legislature's failure to pass a transportation package that allows the county to tax itself to pay for transit service.

4. The Columbian reports that environmental conservationists are putting pressure on conservative Camas Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler to oppose legislation that would slash funding for land and water protection projects. Good luck with that. 

5. Finally, in news that made Josh call me (and I quote), a "55-year-old man reporter," enfant terrible hedge fund investor David Einhorn has sold his long-term investment in Microsoft, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports, because "Windows 8 was a flop and because a 'decade of mismanagement has put Microsoft at risk of becoming a shrinking company.'”