REPUBLICN REAGAN DUNN has confessed to living a country song. He was drunk, he told The Seattle Times when he drove his pickup truck into a ditch.
  • David Barren/Shutterstock
  • REPUBLICN REAGAN DUNN has confessed to, well, living a country song. The King County Councilman was drunk, he told The Seattle Times, when he recently drove his pickup truck into a Kittitas County ditch.

King County Councilman pleads guilty to DUI: Republican Reagan Dunn "revealed his plea to The Seattle Times during an interview in which he acknowledged an alcohol-abuse problem for which he first sought treatment in 2011." He said he was under the influence when he drove his pickup truck into a ditch. (The Times, in its story, notes that it knew about Dunn's 2011 treatment in Los Angeles for alcohol troubles, and knew this before Dunn's re-election race last year, but "chose not to publish the information because it was two years old, Dunn had not committed a crime and there was no evidence that alcohol was affecting his job.") On his Facebook page, Dunn has offered an apology to those who placed their trust in him.

Huge climate change march in NYC this Sunday: It's called the People's Climate Change March and organizers, according to The New York Times, say it "will be the largest protest about climate change in the history of the United States." Across the river, Chris Christie is resisting joining a plan to limit the region's carbon emissions. And on a diagram for how the New York march will be organized, a possible "key to fixing our ailing planet."

Here in Seattle, there will also be a climate change march on Sunday: In solidarity with the marchers in New York City, the "People's Climate March Seattle" is planning a rally (and march) on Sunday beginning at 1 pm at Westlake Park. "Speakers will include Jeff Johnson (Washington State Labor Council & AFL-CIO), Sweetwater (Idle No More), Jess Spear (Climate scientist & Socialist Alternative candidate), Sheley Secrest (NAACP), and others."

KA-CHING Some of the first legal, store-bought pot in Washington State.
  • Malcolm Smith
  • KA-CHING Some of the first legal, store-bought pot in Washington State. Taxes from weed sales are already padding state coffers.

Washington's current marijuana haul: Sure, it's been "a rocky start," but legal pot stores have been open in this state for a bit more than two months now, so let's do the numbers! As the Tacoma News Tribune reports: "Total sales for the 10 weeks through Monday, Sept. 15, totaled $14,050,206... From that total, the state counts excise taxes of $3,512,551." It's not the billions the state legislature needs in order to get out from under its contempt finding, but it's something. (And enough to make an old-school dealer angry.)

Meanwhile, "No Welfare for Weed" bill passes US House: Eastside Republican Dave Reichert was the prime backer of the measure, which the AP reports "would prevent people from using government-issued welfare debit cards to make purchases at stores that sell marijuana." Reichert claims people are already using welfare funds to buy weed, and that this is "outrageous." Another Congressman, Democrat Lloyd Doggett of Texas, said the bill "does nothing to address the tattered safety net." (He voted for the bill anyway.)

Metro service cuts: They'll be a little less bad than previously thought. But that's still bad, bad, bad.

PORTLAND is not a corporate town, as its neighbors Seattle and San Francisco have become, says The New York Times.
  • August_0802/Shutterstock
  • "PORTLAND is not a corporate town, as its neighbors Seattle and San Francisco have become," says The New York Times.

The most popular place be unable to find a job in America? Claire Cain Miller of The New York Times says it may be Portland, where workers have "far fewer opportunities" than in Seattle and San Francisco, and yet:

David Albouy, an economics professor at the University of Illinois, has created a metric, the sacrifice measure, which essentially charts how poor a person is willing to be in order to live in a particular city. Portland, he discovered, is near the top of the list.

Puget Sound earthquake: It happened early yesterday morning, and it was "centered under Hood Canal," The Seattle Times reports. The magnitude: 4.0.

Not registered to vote? You may be getting a helpful postcard soon. One thing that postcard will tell you: it's easy to register to vote online.