Pizza in the Newsroom

~ Brooks

Must mean it’s election night, and our work as journalists greasing the wheels of democracy has paid off in greasy food.

I covered the closely watched PUD race — an unexpected blowout — and correctly wrote that the money would tell the story of the state Legislature races. (Campaign spending fascinates me more than most, but I did overhear a couple discussing the numbers I put together on local races one weekend afternoon at a winery.)

But voting is just one side effect of democracy. Swallow the pill and you’re bound to get cases of alleged election law violations — the pre-existing condition behind much of the PUD commissioners’ bickering.

Another side effect is the sheer passion for the process, of course:

A Longview reporter makes his first trek to the state capitol in the state capital, Olympia. Photo of Brooks Johnson by Brooks Johnson
A reporter makes his first trek to the state capitol in the state capital, Olympia. Photo of Brooks Johnson by Brooks Johnson

Let’s turn now to international issues: I recently spent a good deal of time on the phone with the good folks of Longview, Alberta, whose courtesy was greater than the view from their windows facing west.

And in sports: My first time in the press box begot a nailbiter from a local team otherwise guaranteed a loss.

Finally, don’t miss the newest chapter in the Longview Water Chronicles, including the Great Kalama Taste Test that I emceed.