Clearing out the in-box. Here are some upcoming events and a notice of a voter registration drive targeted at women:

* The 2nd & 29th Districts Republican Club will host a candidate forum on Wednesday, Aug. 6. Invited candidates include state Lands Commissioner (and former Tacoma mayor and Pierce County executive) Doug Sutherland and a number of candidates for the Legislature. The meeting, which is open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in Dryers Fellowship Hall, 220 134th St. So., Tacoma (Parkland). For information, contact Bob Jewell at 360-893-1712 or bobjewell@hotmail.com.

* Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy, who's competing in the four-way race for county executive, will speak to the Pierce County Democratic Women's League on Thursday, Aug. 7. The event, which is open to the public, will be held at noon at the Tacoma Elks Club. For information, contact Judie Fortier at 253-627-8130 or mstplaza@comcast.net.

* The 25th Legislative District Democrats will meet Thursday, Aug. 7, to listen to candidates for county and judicial offices and consider endorsements for the Nov. 4 election. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Puyallup Public Library, 324 South Meridian. For more information, contact Charley Stokes at cwstokes@earthlink.net or 253-861-8744.

* The 25th District Republican Club and the South Sound Ronald Reagan Republican Club will host a picnic on Wednesday, Aug. 13. The event will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Pioneer Park Pavilion in Puyallup. Tickets (which include food) cost $20. Checks payable to the 25th District Republican Club should be sent to 2409 34th Ave SE, Puyallup, 98374-4142. For more information, contact Bob Neilson at 253-845-0038 or rhneilson@earthlink.net.

* If you are an unmarried women in Washington state and you're not registered to vote, there's a campaign to find you and fix that (the unregistered part). Some D.C. folks sent a news release last week saying they expect to register 1 million unmarried women in 24 states to vote by election day. The target figure in Washington state is 195,059 women. The campaign is run by the national organization Women's Voices Women Vote, which says unmarried women run an increasing number of households but are statistically less likely to vote.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell is coming to Tacoma on Tuesday. She plans to hold a news conference to talk about her efforts to hold corporations accountable for environmental cleanups so that taxpayers aren't left holding the bag.

She's particularly concerned about the outcome of Asarco's bankruptcy.

Here's the press release:

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As The Olympian's Brad Shannon reports, Gov. Chris Gregoire today ordered an immediate hiring freeze that's designed to save $90 million. She took action in light of slowing tax collections as the economy limps along. (Note: I did my part this weekend by buying a $40 "Need for Speed" game for my Wii).

Below is Gregoire's news release announcing the action.

I'd expect we'll get some Republican reaction in short order. If so, I'll post it here as well. Update: Dino Rossi's campaign issued a statement in which he points out the increased state spending under Gregoire's watch. I've pasted it below Gregoire's announcement.

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