The dog days approach

Things start to drag around this time of year, but you’d never know it by looking at today’s paper, Steve Smith said. “For the Wednesday before the Fourth of July, it’s really kind of astonishing.”

Smith had particular praise for Kevin Graman’s story on an alcohol ban on the Spokane reservation. “Casually reading it, you don’t get a sense of how much reporting goes into it,” he said. “These stories are just fraught with difficulty.”

The “official governing structure” of the tribe is quite upset with us, Smith said, but unofficial sources have been very helpful in providing information.

Naming names

Political reporter Jim Camden was stopped by a reference to “members of a congressional Democratic campaign” in a story on the memorial service for Doug Dawson . The candidate, Camden said, is Peter Goldmark, so why not name him?

“It’s a good question - we don’t have enough information to answer it,” senior editor Carla Savalli said.

On a roll, Camden also drew attention to a line in the wire story on the flag-burning amendment that referred to legislation brought to the floor by GOP leaders hoping to mobilize their base. “Democrats are also trying to motivate their base, but it doesn’t say that,” he said.

Seeing stars

Sagittarius was left out of this morning’s horoscope for some reason (your guess is as good as ours). Click here to read your fortune.