Is there any way to avoid a special session? Does anybody care? There are so many major issues to be resolved it seems impossible for the governor and lawmakers to reach an agreement by May 23. Stranger things have happened, I guess, but let's look at the list again. Taxes, K-12 spending, health and human services, and transportation are the big areas of fundamental disagreement. On the positive side, the big three have reached an agreement on public safety funding, as reported by the Associated Press:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislative leaders agreed Sunday night on a $1.685 billion target for the main public safety budget bill of the session but said the details of that, and targets for bigger spending bills, must still be worked out.

The agreement includes the concept of life without parole for the most dangerous sex offenders, Pawlenty, House Speaker Steve Sviggum and Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson told The Associated Press in a joint conference call.

But the details of which sex offenders would count as "the worst of the worst" and face life imprisonment with no chance of release still must be negotiated in conference committee, they said.

The bill will also include measures to combat methamphetamine, including restrictions on access to ingredients used to make the illegal stimulant, but those details also must be negotiated, they said.

The legislative leaders seemed quite optimistic they can finish in the next week, but they seem like the only ones. Maybe they know something the rest of us don't.

Other issues I haven't mentioned include casino gambling and the proposed new Twins stadium. Both are scheduled for hearings in House committees Monday. The Star Tribune has an interesting take on campaign contributions around the gambling issue:

Legislators expected to cast key votes as early as today on Gov. Tim Pawlenty's latest casino plan received more than $12,000 in campaign contributions last year from gambling interests.

DFLers on the House Taxes Committee got $6,950, mostly from Indian groups that fear the two casinos planned for Canterbury Park racetrack would compete with existing tribal casinos.

Republicans on the committee got $5,150, mostly from Canterbury Park officers and their lobbyists, who are pushing for approval of the governor's plan.

It faces a critical test in the Taxes Committee. Members from both parties on the panel said the contributions from gambling interests amount to a small share of all the money they raise, wouldn't influence their vote and reflect support for longstanding positions they've taken on gambling.

The story raises the classic chicken-and-egg question: which came first, the lawmaker's position on gambling or the money that supports that position?

Finally today a story on which I want to admit a bias. Maybe you heard about the bouncer at Nye's Polonaise Room who was shot in the back last week by a patron he had ejected from the bar. It turns out the man who allegedly shot him had a permit for his handgun. It's not clear when the permit was issued or what criteria were used to judge the suspect's fitness to carry a handgun. Shouldn't the media run this down before the Legislature takes a final vote on whether to re-pass the permit law, which was thrown out by the courts?

Here's my bias. The bouncer who was killed, Bill Walsh, was a high school classmate of mine. He deserved better than to end his life face down on the sidewalk with bullets in his back. The Senate was debating the handgun bill Friday as the story emerged about the shooting.

Maybe the handgun permit and the "concealed carry" law had nothing to do with what happened, but I would hope legislators think very carefully and get all the information before they vote on life and death issues. They owe at least that much to Bill Walsh.