Barack Obama and John McCain aren’t the only politicians getting national press coverage. There’s also Scott Lees of Bellevue.

Scott, 9, a third grader at Bellevue’s Chestnut Hill Academy, made it into the pages of the Wall Street Journal, which recounted his attempt to be elected school treasurer.

It was a story about how “political rhetoric is trickling down from presidential campaign podiums to classrooms and schoolyards,” the Journal said in an Oct. 23 article.

“It is money – your money! If you vote for Scott Lees, I will look after your money carefully,” he said in the Journal article. “Don’t throw your money away!” Then he threw fake bills at his audience of 100.

He got the job.

Red-light drivers really do cut it close. As a Medic One van carefully was moving through an intersection, after switching the signal for cross traffic to red, a car speeded up to get through the intersection. It just barely stopped in time from hitting the emergency vehicle. Who says red-light cameras aren’t needed.

The Washington News Council’s 10th Annual Gridiron West Dinner is coming up Nov. 9 with Kemper Freeman as the person getting “toasted.” There’s also an auction item up for bid: Kemper will mow the lawn of whomever bids the most.

This isn’t surprising. In Freeman’s book, “Generations,” he recounts how he loves to mow lawns. “I love mowing lawns. I’ve mowed more lawns than anybody you ever talked to,” Freeman writes.

Hmmmm. Do you suppose the Bellevue Municipal Golf Course might be readying a bid?

Some news releases just make you wonder. Like this one: “The Seattle Aquarium teamed up with local chefs today …”

Yikes, is an aquarium octopus too old to perform and destined to become calamari? Well, no. Apparently, it’s just that the aquarium is working with chefs to use fish or shellfish that are caught or grown in environmentally sound ways. Whew.