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Say it ain't so, Joe

• Published October 01, 2009

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The Olympia press corps is losing another very able body during this hellish season for newspapers.

I knew something was up when Joe Turner, my new office-partner in the Capitol bureau, said "no comment" this week about the chance he was retiring from the profession. Turns out he is leaving Nov. 1.

Turner announced his plans formally this morning and no one will say it any better than he does in this blog post that points out the watchdog role of the press is weakened by the many departures of the past 18 months.

Turner, the pleasantly cantankerous reporter with The News Tribune, was unrivaled among us reporters for his grasp of the state budget.

Bottom line: This is a sad day, another sad day. I think that takes the press corps back down to seven full-time, now that Jim Camden of the Spokesman-Review is in town to fill Rich Roesler's position.

Say it ain't so, Joe.