From our soon-to-be man-about-town, Dave Seago:

Kim,

We went with my daughter to see the Pride parade in Seattle, and who should walk into the viewfinder of my camera but Pierce County’s First Couple, John and Connie Ladenburg. Their constituents will be glad to know they behaved themselves. In fact, I think they were in the running for the Squarest Participants trophy.

Judging from the crowd reaction when Gregoire went by – big cheers – and when the Obama contingent went by – even bigger cheers – I will go out

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Welcome Tall Ships! Their second visit promises to go more smoothly than the first, and we hope it will firmly establish their appearance as a regular event.

Two-thirds of Americans can name at least one of the judges on "American Idol." But fewer than one in 10 can name the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Sandra Day O’Connor wants to change that – and good for her.

About our editorials:

If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to patrick.ocallahan@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune’s editorial

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The Supreme Court last week affirmed that the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms. For gun advocates, so far so good.

But a sharp-eyed Wall Street Journal reporter picked up on a clause in Antonin Scalia’s opinion – in a footnote, no less – that could mean the ruling is far less sweeping than it appears.

The crucial words: “… incorporation, a question not presented by this case …”

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Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg responded to my blog post yesterday about the attorney general’s race.

Based on an earlier item from the TNT’s Political Buzz blog, I had noted that House Majority Leader Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, had said she wouldn’t endorse Ladenburg for AG – because Ladenburg had opposed her bill requiring local governments to record their executive sessions.

Ladenburg says that it it was all a misunderstanding.

Dave, I did not oppose the Kessler bill. In fact, I never took a position on the bill. The article in the Vancouver paper was

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Pierce County Councilman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor, dropped by Friday to say how glad he is that I’m leaving the TNT.

He really didn’t say that. But amid an exchange of good wishes, I extracted quite a bit of news:

Lee is optimistic that the county’s proposed purchase of the Tacoma Narrows Airport will soon be greenlighted by the council. The county is currently conducting due diligence on the deal, as is the new Peninsula Metropolitan Park District.

The county would put up $3 million, the park district $2 million to buy 644 acres that

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Saturday:

The Puyallup City Council is right to ban dogs from city recreational fields. Too many dog owners have been negligent about cleaning up after their pets. Besides, the city has an off-leash park to serve dogs and their owners.

Sunday:

United Way of Pierce County has a good shot at landing a multiyear Gates Foundation grant to mount a sustained and coordinated early-learning initiative. The goal, to keep disadvantaged children from falling behind before they even get to kindergarten, couldn’t be more important.

The City of Tacoma’s plans to develop a Water Ditch recreational

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The Axis of Evil used to consist of Iraq, North Korea and Iran. Iraq’s out. Now North Korea’s out. Only Iran is left.

Does that mean we’re down to a Hubcap of Evil?