The Seattle Times offers this report, which begins: “he unprecedented hand recount that put Gov. Christine Gregoire in office this week was paid for in large part with contributions from powerful interest groups, including labor unions, tribes and trial lawyers, which gave much more than they would have been allowed during the campaign.” See also GOP Seeks Criminal Records, which begins: “Republicans want a copy of the state’s criminal-records database to compare it with the names of the nearly 3 million people who voted in the governor’s race, as party attorneys search for felons who cast illegal ballots”