Gov. Chris Gregoire and other state and local leaders sent a letter to NBA Commissioner David Stern today, asking him to stop the Sonics from moving to Oklahoma at least until all the legal issues surrounding the issue can be resolved.

The letter is an attempt to "to express our united support for NBA basketball in Seattle." But Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles didn't sign the letter. It was signed by Gregoire, House Speaker Frank Chopp, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, King County Executive Ron Sims and City Council President Richard Conlin.

The letter says:

Democrat Darcy Burner's campaign says that her first quarter reports with the Federal Elections Commission will show she raised more than $500,000 so far this year. The campaign says that will put her first among Congressional challengers in western states and among the top nationwide.

The filings will show that Burner has raised $1.3 million since starting her second run at Congressman Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, and she has $921,615 in the bank. In her first run, Burner raised $334,000 in the first quarter of 2006. Her fast fundraising this time has put her ahead of the inumbent in the money race and has already chased off a Democratic primary opponent.

Congressman Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, has serious concerns about the pending free trade deal with Colombia. Baird said that while the Colombia Free Trade Agreement has been improved, he says reports of violence against labor leaders in the country must be stopped. And he is unwilling to vote for the trade pact until that happens.

It is my understanding that the government of President Uribe has taken important steps to address this, but killings still occur and this is deeply upsetting not only to those who care about labor, but for all individuals who are concerned about human rights and the rule of law everywhere.

Currently, U.S. produced goods face tariffs when being sold in Colombia, but most Colombian goods cross our borders tariff-free. The proposed agreement would eliminate tariffs on U.S.-made goods, thus leveling the playing field for American-made products. Overall, the agreement has a number of positive elements that would improve the status quo, but serious concerns about the safety of labor and political leaders are not yet sufficiently addressed.

You can see here where other Democrats stand on the deal. Republicans in the delegation support it and pushed for a vote last week.

MORE: Congressman Rick Larsen responds as well today, saying he supported the move to delay a vote, but on the specifics he's still unsure what he'd do if it comes back before Congress this year.

We need to make sure Congress is taking care of economic relief for Americans first. Congress must move quickly to pass a second economic stimulus package to get our economy back on track.

I am carefully considering the Colombia FTA and I look forward to having a vote before the end of President Bush’s term.