“It’s inertia. It’s selfishness. It’s taking our paycheck but not doing the work. It’s not caring about either our fellow workers or the public we are supposed to serve. It’s not taking responsibility. It’s refusing to be held accountable.”

– Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges, describing the workplace culture that allowed careless election procedures and thousands of voting improprieties in Washington’s 2004 gubernatorial election.

“Law and justice. In the 10 years I’ve been working in it, it is a continuing operation by crisis.”

– Spokane County Commissioner Phil Harris as a projected $1.5 million shortfall in the county jail budget was added to a growing list of funding needs for the courts and law enforcement.

“People were always kind of apologetic for the place.”

– Former English Professor Don Wall, describing the morale that existed at Eastern Washington University before the now-departing Stephen Jordan took over as president of EWU seven years ago.

“We knew that we needed to think they were coming back.”

– Fernan Elementary School Principal Lana Hamilton, noting that next fall’s class lists include the names of Dylan and Shasta Groene, both of whom have been missing since May 15 when the bodies of their brother, mother and mother’s boyfriend were found at their home in North Idaho’s Wolf Lodge Bay area.

“I had to pick a kid’s teeth up off the ground once.”

– Spokane Valley Police officer Tom Warner, explaining the rationale for strictly enforcing reduced speed limits in school zones.

“I guess they found a weak spot that we hadn’t gotten to.”

– Geiger Corrections Center Director Leon Long, saying that although some half-dozen prisoners have escaped from the facility in the past year, there hadn’t been a problem with women prisoners until two of them slipped away Wednesday by scaling three fences.

“We all know that this is a bailout for Boeing.”

– Ronald G. Garant, an official in the Pentagon comptroller’s office, quoted this week by the Washington Post from an e-mail exchange among officials in the Defense Department, which was publicly touting the efficiency of leasing Boeing jetliners converted into military refueling tankers.