1.  CNN reports that Costco employees are happy with their gigs, making an average of about $20 an hour—compared to $13, on average, at competitor Wal-Mart. The federal minimum wage is just $7.25 an hour.

2. The Olympian reports that state Rep. Gary Alexander (R-2, Olympia), the GOP's house budget lead, plans to step down from the state legislature at the end of the year, whether or not he ends up winning his bid for Thurston County Auditor—opening up a seat that typically favors Republicans. 

3. The PI.com reports that former Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske is being moved out of his job as U.S. Drug Czar to become President Obama's new U.S. Commssioner of Customs—moving away from marijuana legalization at a time when "the Obama administration is stuck in place trying to figure out what to do in response to passage of marijuana legalization initiatives by Washington and Colorado voters." 

4. As Primary Election Night approaches, KOMO reports that state Sen. Ed Murray is the "current front runner" in the Seattle mayor's race, although incumbent Mike McGInn "spent his Monday burning up the phone lines," calling supporters and urging them to vote.

A similar tactic helped McGinn prevail four years ago, when last-minute cell-phone calls got out the youth vote, pushing McGinn over the hump against rival Joe Mallahan. 

5. The Washington Post's Ezra Klein interviews Donald Graham on his decision to sell the venerable paper to Amazon's Jeff Bezos: "we looked ahead, if revenues kept declining we’d have no choice but to keep cutting," Graham tells Klein.