Gov. Chris Gregoire has directed that flags at all Washington state agency buildings be lowered to half-staff Thursday in memory of Washington State Department of Natural Resources employee Sam Gaydeski of Beaver.

Gaydeski was killed on the job Monday while clearing brush near Clearwater in Jefferson County.

Flags should remain at half-staff until close of business Thursday, or first thing Friday morning.
Other government entities, citizens and businesses are encouraged to join in this recognition.

I’m here at the state geography bee at Pacific Lutheran University, and one of the Top 2 finalists is from the South Sound.

Alex Quast, a 12-year-old from Olympia, has made it to the finals.

Check back to find out how Alex does.

Yes, there was a lot of traffic on state highways over the July 4th weekend, according to the The Washington State Department of Transportation. WSDOT released preliminary traffic counts today in the following press release:

OLYMPIA – Preliminary data from WSDOT’s Transportation Data Office

revealed more drivers hit the roadways for Independence Day weekend

2009, with just one minor exception. WSDOT’s traffic counts show a

slight decrease in travel from the Bellingham area north to the Canadian

border.

WSDOT’s initial traffic counts show increase of nearly 15 percent in

holiday traffic on I-90

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Our sister paper, The Olympian, reports the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain will be in the capital week after next.

They’ll be at Percival Landing on Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 as part of Olympia Harbor Days.

Click here for more info.

My invitation to the weekend’s festivities at the governor’s mansion might have been lost in the mail, but there are no hard feelings.

But if you want a recap at Saturday’s power wedding, the Vows section of the New York Times has a quick recap.

Courtney Gregoire, Scott Lindsay [NYT]

Gov. Chris Gregoire asked us press hacks if there was a card-everyone-who-enters-a-bar law. Why? Because after attending some of last week’s Capital Lakefair festivities, she entered Hannah’s Sports Bar & Grill. The guy manning the front door asked to see her ID.

She left hers in the car. And even when the doorman was told who he was carding, he was adamant. She needed to show ID.

"Do you guys see something that I don’t see in the mirror?" she asked, laughing.

Sen. Barack Obama won a clean sweep of the Democratic delegates in Garfield County, we reported on Sunday.

Crosscut picked the story up and talked the editor of the East Washingtonian in Pomeroy, who had some funny things to say.

When I told my buddy Jay, who’s a walking IMDb, he was quick to point out that rural Garfield county was the main setting of the 1996 Chris Farly/David Spade comedy “Black Sheep.” And do you remember where Farley’s character worked? At the Pierce County Recreation Center.

Ismael Benavidez received his first glimpse of lawmaking Friday. It’s long-winded a process often likened to sausage-making – something no one really wants to see – but the junior at Sammamish High School left Olympia impressed.

"It was pretty neat to see how it all worked," he said. "And I’ve learned a lot this week."

Benavidez and about 600 other students were at the Capitol to meet with legislators as part of an education conference hosted by the Latino/a Educational Achievement Project.

They also visited the chambers, took a tour of the building, received a primer of how the political process works and discussed several bills that would benefit Latino students in Washington.

The LEAP conference began Thursday at the Hotel Murano in downtown Tacoma with a dinner and keynote address from Gov. Chris Gregoire. Students attended leadership and educational workshops. The conference concludes Saturday morning.

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