Memo to news section editor DOMINIC HOLDEN: The operative part of the word "news" is "new." Perhaps you somehow missed out on the most basic tenet of your job: You do not manage the "olds" section of The Stranger. Why, then, do you waste space on ELI SANDERS crowing about the defeat of Washington State Supreme Court justice Richard B. Sanders—you do realize that is the outcome of an election that occurred more than two weeks ago, yes? Do you really need to squander more column inches on the act of one of your writers patting himself on the back? Is next week's feature going to be a long personal remembrance called "Remember When Justice Sanders Lost?" by Eli Sanders?

The other major topic in the "news" section this week is about Nickelsville—that certainly doesn't help. This flotilla of flagrant hoboism has flitted from neighborhood to neighborhood, terrorizing decent, hardworking Seattle residents for years. So why does CIENNA MADRID lead off the section with another boring account of these lazy gadabouts as they rove about the city, willy-nilly? Being Latina, Miss Madrid presumably feels sympathy for the financially disadvantaged. But that doesn't make her fight-picking with the city council—clearly, Miss Madrid has settled into her comfy role as the McGinn administration's mouthpiece with none of the moral compunctions that a real newswoman would harbor—any more pertinent.

Then in the book section, PAUL CONSTANT gives over the books section to a "golden oldie." For some reason, he has scrawled 1,400 words of Bush bashing, which is to say it is an incomprehensible rant about George W. Bush. Memo from the present: Get over it. It was years ago. That the whole piece is couched in Mr. Constant's unattractive jealousy in reading memoirs by two handsome, fit young men of means makes the whole affair simply sad.

Then we have a 6,000-word feature story by JEN GRAVES about—well, I am not sure what it is about. I can tell you it addresses the history of Seattle, and coyotes. It is basically well written, but the premise involves Miss Graves traveling the country in order to discover the essence of Northwest artistic regionalism, and I do not have the space here to point out the basic harebrainedness of this idea.

Elsewhere... THEATER: I cannot help but notice that theater editor Brendan Kiley does not once use the word "cocaine" in this newspaper, breaking a seeming yearlong streak—congratulations are in order... CHOW: Didn't read... MUSIC: In solidarity with the out-of-touch books editor, always-too-gay David Schmader celebrates a famous Bush-basher, and Dave Segal interviews an "ursine, bespectacled 33-year-old," proving two things: (1) He interviewed a large hairy man who wears glasses, and (2) he owns a thesaurus... CONTROL TOWER: The moral of the story is: Do not play with plastic bags... SAVAGE LOVE: Too gay.

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