Vickie Ybarra

The Washington State House Democratic Campaign Committee has invested some more money into Eastern Washington races, the Yakima Herald reported over the weekend. After giving Richland's Carol Moser $20,000 for her bid to replace retiring Rep. Shirley Hankins (R-Richland) earlier this summer, the HDCC has contributed $30,000 to 8th Legislative District candidate Vickie Ybarra (D-Yakima).

Ybarra is running against Yakima Republican Norm Johnson after winning a crowded primary with 30 percent of the vote. Johnson came in second with 22 percent.

"It helps level the playing field a little bit," Ybarra told the Herald. "We know that I have an uphill battle."

Porn model walks, airplane modeler gets a do-over and remodelers may have overdone it. Here are the Winners & Losers for June 20, 2008.

Last week Rep. Mary Skinner (R-Yakima) made some waves in the 14th District when she announced her retirement late in the game, leaving little time for candidates to begin their campaigns.

The Yakima Herald reports that, in the small interval of time since Skinner's announcement, five candidates have expressed interest already, and one speculative frontrunner has even dropped out of the bidding.