-In a discussion of the significance of an anti-Building-Industry-Association-of-Washington-button at a Democratic fundraiser, horsesass.org writer Josh Feit offhandedly mentions Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and Congressman Jay Inslee as gubernatorial candidates in 2012. Writes Feit: "I was talking to a Democratic state Senator about the 2012 governor’s race. We were handicapping state Senator Lisa Brown’s (D-3, Spokane) chances vs. U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee’s chances, in what’s likely to be a bruising primary between the two anticipated candidates. And could either one beat GOP media darling, AG Rob McKenna?" -Rep. Steve Hailey, R-Mesa, is stepping down in January, citing weakness from cancer treatments. Elected in 2006, Hailey was just starting his second session this year when he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He spent most of the session at home, trying to keep up with legislative work in between chemotherapy. Hailey. 63, last week wrote to Gov. Chris Gregoire, saying "My health is such that I cannot represent the interests of my constituents in the fashion they deserve." It's increasingly difficult, the third-generation farmer and rancher said, to summon the physical strength to keep up with the demands of being a lawmaker. He said the treatment has been "tough but tolerable" and said he's determined to beat the disease. "He leaves office with the same class and dignity in which he served," said Rep. Joe Schmick, who also represents the mostly-Palouse 9th district. "I would ask that people keep Steve and his family in their thoughts and prayers." -Politicker.wa has stopped updating its posts since last week and is apparently shutting down after a promising run as a one-stop, all-politics website. Olympian political editor Brad Shannon wrote: "Blogger Bryan Bissell at politickerwa.com just posted an item today, titled Goodbye, and Good Luck, saying he has lost his job. The Tacoma native said parent company politicker.com pulled the plug. The online news service was serving 20 states but is down to five, and the cuts came as a surprise, Bissell told me." That farewell post has since disappeared from Politickerwa's website. -Longtime Eastern Washington state Rep. Bill Grant, D-Walla Walla, has been diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. In an announcement to fellow lawmakers, Grant said that a lung biopsy in Seattle revealed the cancer and that he'd returned home to discuss treatment options. Note: We're still working some of the kinks out of this new blogging platform, which is why the links in the above post aren't showing up properly. Working on this...Also, I have no idea why Brown's name is lower-cased in the tags. No slight intended. RR

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