Rep. Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley) wants his deposition in a defamation suit sealed from public view. Shea is being sued by a Spokane sheriff’s deputy after Shea suggested in a 2015 podcast that three murders were linked back to the deputy’s gun. The deputy’s attorney said of Shea’s bid to seal his deposition, “In my work, that is over-the-top. Cases like these are public matters.” (The Inlander)

Are communications and polling data that were shared among Seattle city officials public documents or private campaign communications? A judge – overseeing a suit that accuses Seattle officials of violating the Open Public Meetings Act in their repeal of the jobs tax – will decide if the documents are required to be released. Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes argued in a filing that the documents reflect “personal political activity and other private matters” among councilmembers and Mayor Jenny Durkan, not official city business. (Seattle Times)

A Sound Transit panel endorsed plans to build tunnels instead of elevated tracks to expand light rail into Ballard and West Seattle. The expansion is expected to add hundreds of millions of dollars to an already ballooning Sound Transit budget. (Seattle Times)

After three years of prioritizing the search for a publicly-owned building to use for a homeless shelter, King County may finally be exploring a potential option. The county said it is beginning to look into transforming a wing of the King County Correctional Facility into a homeless shelter. (My Northwest)

Congressman Dan Newhouse announced last week that he will be marrying Joan Galvin, who works for a D.C.-based law firm. Newhouse has been a widower since his wife passed away from cancer in 2017. He had a wonderful marriage with her, Newhouse said, and now to find someone to marry again is “pretty special.” (Tri-City Herald)

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