TCH's Mulick calls it a day

The Olympia press corps has taken another hit this morning with the announcement that the Tri-City Herald's Chris Mulick will be hanging up the typewriter at the end of this week to take a position as a public information officer with the Senate Democratic caucus.

Mulick's Olympia Dispatch was a great source for consistently breaking and frequently witty legislative news, and was one of PolitickerWA.com's favorite link destinations over the course of these last eight months. He closes up shop this Friday.

Below is a portion of his take on the shift:

I can't point to one single reason that fueled this decision. There are many factors involved in the complex equation.

But certainly, the financial troubles plaguing this industry have created considerable uncertainty. And while the Herald has given me every assurance my job is safe in this bureau it's unsettling how quickly the unthinkable has become reality in this business. With a young family, I've no choice but to risk jumping too soon. I simply can't risk jumping too late.

All this would be far more easier if I had more to gripe about. But I've never enjoyed this job more than during the last three years. I work for bosses who have respected andappreciated me. And I've worked for a newspaper committed to a brand of journalism that has made me proud to be a contributor.

To paraphrase Walter Sobchak, this was a valued colleague.