This is probably how the Liquor Control Board will deliver the nearly $200,000 its paying a records requester to go away.
  • Givaga/Shutterstock
  • This is probably how the liquor control board will deliver the nearly $200,000 it's paying a records requester to go away.

Liquor Board Pays Off Gadfly: The Washington State Liquor Control Board has settled with a man who frequently requests records and complains that the board has violated open public meeting rules. In November, a judge agreed with him and found that the board had committed 17 open meeting violations when it was creating the rules for the new recreational marijuana industry. Now, in exchange for $192,000, the man will withdraw all of his current requests and agree not to file any more requests about the board's oversight of marijuana. He couldn't talk about the details of the settlement, but told the AP, "I can say there is an excellent view from the front porch of the house I am closing on this week."

Guy Wakes Up with Gunshot Wound: "A man told police he awoke inside a tent in a wooded area near Interstate 5 and Harborview Medical Center Wednesday to find he’d been shot in the leg," reports the Seattle Police Department on the Blotter. "Heavily medicated" after arriving at the hospital, the man couldn't tell officers the location of the tent, who shot him, or why.

New Tenant Protection Bills Proposed: Capitol Hill Seattle gives us a rundown of the bills being proposed in Olympia to strengthen renters rights. Among them: changing the required notice for rent hikes from 30 days to 90 days. Meanwhile, Seattle Times columnist Blanca Torres says the city's rental market is not in crisis.

The rescue pit where crews will remove part of Bertha in hopes of restarting tunneling under downtown Seattle.
  • Washington State Department of Transportation
  • The rescue pit where crews will remove part of Bertha in hopes of restarting tunneling under downtown Seattle.

No Plan B: Mayor Ed Murray tells KUOW he doesn't think it's time to have a Plan B for the tunnel project, but if more goes wrong with this project, "I'm not afraid to say it didn't work, I was wrong, bad on me."

Speaking of Bertha: Crews are preparing a massively strong crane to remove part of the tunnel boring machine for repairs and they really don't want to fuck it up.

Uncle Ike's Had a Good Christmas: Sales at the store are growing faster than sales statewide. Uncle Ike's sold $700,000 worth of pot in December, accounting for about 4 percent of statewide sales.

All these beautiful things might die and its our fault
  • Brian Kinney/Shutterstock
  • All these beautiful things might die and it's our fault

Everything Is the Worst: 2014 was the hottest year ever on record and humans are on the verge of causing a mass extinction of ocean life, reports the New York Times.

Venture Capitalists Love Seattle: VCs invested $1.2 billion in Seattle-area companies in 2014—mostly software businesses—which was about 36 percent than in 2013, reports the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Something About Sports: Some people think the Seahawks are going to beat the Packers on Sunday and other people think not.

"Renovated Death Chamber": After a botched execution in April, Oklahoma has started executing people again.