“None of us wanted him to get the death penalty, because we didn’t want him to have the luxury of an isolated cell. We wanted him in the population, where he’d be able to suffer some of the consequences. Many of the men in there had mothers or sisters or girlfriends who worked the street.”

– Spokane County Regional Health District worker Lynn Everson, who does outreach work with Spokane prostitutes, commenting on the Washington state Supreme Court’s affirmation of the death penalty for serial killer Robert Yates Jr., whose victims included several streetwalkers.

“The families of these victims can be assured the federal government, Congress, believes this is a sick, sick practice.”

– Congressman David G. Reichert, R-Wash., a former King County sheriff, speaking in favor of a bill to prevent state and federal prisoners from using the mail to peddle memorabilia associated with notorious crimes.

“It’s our job out here to lay people down who are doing bad things.”

– Army Spec. Joshua L. Michaud, a sniper in Iraq, where “drop items” such as ammunition and explosives are used as bait to identify suspected insurgents who are then killed.

“With this ridiculous Web site, people can come right to our home. In the law enforcement community, it is not-so-affectionately known as the Identity Theft Database.”

– Arlington attorney Karen Schweigert, who is waging a campign to withhold information such as birthdates of her husband and other police officers from a Seattle newspaper’s request under state public records laws.

“As yesterday’s positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured.”

– President Bush, at a public appearance to tout the success of his No Child Left Behind program.

“We can’t have police in the restrooms all the time, obviously, nor do we want to.”

– Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan, explaining why the Metropolitan Airports Commission will install larger restroom partitions designed to prevent the kind of activity over which an undercover officer arrested U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, in June.

“People think of Puget Sound and they think of these iconic animals like killer whales and salmon. But when you go by just the numbers, ratfish are by far the most important animal in the ecosystem – yet we know so little about them.”

– University of Washington doctoral student Jon Reum, working on a survey of marine life in Puget Sound.

“I’m breaking them up as best I can.”

– Spokane City Council attorney Mike Piccolo, describing his attempts to keep council members from huddling in groups larger than three to avoid violating the state Open Meetings Act during a recess from last Monday’s meeting, when they were trying to decide how to handle a park bond issue on this fall’s ballot.